The Beginnings Of Freemasonry In North Carolina And Tennessee 1906 - Haywood

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THE BEGINNINGS
QE FREEMASONRY

f

NORTH CAROLINA
AND TENNESSEE

' MARSHALL DeLANCEY HAYWOOD !

ID

1 • 1

GOVERNOR SAnUEIL JOHNSTON?
Qr&iH /faster of tfye /^^s©oic Granyd L.o4g e of NortB? Caroling
At its R*orfanjiz&ti©i> inj 1787.

THE

Beginnings of Freemasonry

IN

North Carolina and Tennessee

BY

MARSHALL DeLANCEY HAYWOOD,

Historian of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina, and Representative of the Grand Lodge
of Maryland, near the same.

" Being persuaded that a just application of the principles on which the Masonic
fraternity is founded must he promotive of private virtue and public prosperity, I
shall ahtays he happy to advance the interests of the Society and be considered by
them a deserving Brother.' '—GEORGE WASHINGTON, August 16, 1790.

Raleigh :

Weaver A Lynch, Printers and Binders,
1906.

5^ 7^3..i

.4 - > ^

Copyright 1906
by

Marshall DcLanccy Haywood

TO THE

WORSHIPFUL MASTER AND BRETHREN

OF

WILLIAM G. HILL LODGE,

No. 218,
IN THE CITY OF RALEIGH,
THESE PAGES ARE
DEDICATED.

CONTENTS

PAGE.

Beginnings of Fbeemasonby in Nobth Carolina, 1

Subordinate Lodges of Colonial Times in Nobth Cabolina, . . 2

Eablt History of the Gband Lodge of Nobth Cabolina, ... 14

The Joint Gband Lodge of Nobth Cabolina and Tennessee, . . 24

Gband Lodge Officers of Colonial Days, 37

John Hammebton, 38

Thomas Cooper, 41

Joseph Montfobt, 43

James Milneb, 49

COBNELIUS HABNETT, 51

William Bbimage, 59

Conclusion, 67

List of Nobth Cabolina Gband Lodge Officers, 1787-1906, . . 69

BEGINNINGS OF FREEMASONRY IN NORTH
CAROLINA.

Among all the many thousands of Ancient, Fbee and
Accepted Masons whose Lodges are now scattered through-
out the Grand Jurisdiction of North Carolina, very few there
are who possess a knowledge of the history of their Order in
this State. Little knows the average Mason of his Craft's
transmission from England to America, of its growth in
Colonial days, how great soldiers and statesmen of Revolu-
tionary times united with worthy brethren in humbler spheres
of life and "transmitted unimpaired the most excellent tenets
of our institution," how a sturdy race of pioneers carried the
Great Lights of Masonry across mountain ranges into Tennes-
see and there formed another Grand Lodge which in time
was to send its chartered off-shoots throughout newer States
where the organization still flourishes, and what were the
earlier causes in general of the high esteem in which Masonry
has ever been held in all enlightened communities — all this,
I say, is a closed book to the average Craftsman in North
Carolina. As unfortunate, almost, as this ignorance itself
is the fact that there are few accessible sources from which
information may be obtained as to our State's earlier Masonic
history. The Order has printed little. It has pursued the
noiseless tenor of its way, never swelling its ranks by seeking
new members, but welcoming good men of all religious creeds
who come of their own accord and are willing to conform to
its ancient usages. Like charity, it suffereth long and is kind,
envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not
behave itself unseemly, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but re-
joiceth in the truth.

In these pages I purpose to record in a brief way, as best
I can, some facts which seem to me worthy of remembrance
in connection with the history of Masonry in North Carolina

2

and Tennessee, also having a few words to say of some of
our eminent Brethren from whose hands have long since
dropped the working-tools of life.

SUBORDINATE LODGES OF COLONIAL TIMES IN
NORTH CAROLINA.

The history of Freemasonry in the British Colonies of
North America (now the United States) may be traced back
to a very early period, and prior to 1735 the Craft was
actively at work in North Carolina. In the year just men-
tioned, enough Masons had assembled in the Cape Fear
settlement (near the site of the present city of Wilmington)
to form a Lodge. This was Solomon Lodge, chartered by
Thomas Thynne, second Viscount Weymouth, Grand Master
of the Grand Lodge of England. In the History of Free-
masonry and Concordant Orders it is stated that application
was made for charters for Solomon Lodge at Cape Fear, and
Solomon Lodge at Charleston, in South Carolina, at the
same time. Solomon Lodge at Cape Fear was duly entered
on the roll of the Grand Lodge in England; but, by some
oversight, Solomon Lodge at Charleston was omitted. Some
years later, however, this injustice to the Lodge in South
Carolina was remedied, and it was properly enrolled, with
precedence from 1735. It is believed by some that the pres-
ent Saint J ohn's Lodge at Wilmington is an outgrowth of
Solomon Lodge at Cape Fear. If this be true, it is probable
that Solomon Lodge ceased to exist, under that name, in 1754,

3

when Saint John's Lodge was chartered by the Grand Lodge
of England.

On the roll of the Grand Lodge of England for 1762 it is
stated that the present Saint John's Lodge, now No. 1, of
Wilmington, had been chartered in 1755. A year earlier,
however, seems to have been the date of its charter, as that
instrument was paid for on the 27th of June, 1754. Its
English number was then 213. This number was changed
to 158 in 1770, to 126 in 1780, 127 in 1781, and 114 in
1792. The last date was after it was a part of the Grand
Lodge of North Carolina and no longer acknowledged the
Masonic jurisdiction of England. By chapter 58 of the Laws
of North Carolina for 1796 it was created a corporate body.
Of this Lodge Cornelius Harnett was Worshipful Master
for quite a number of years in Colonial times. A sketch of
Brother Harnett, who afterwards became Deputy Grand
Master, will be given later on in this work. In connection
with the early history of Saint John's Lodge, I am indebted
to Past Master William B. McKoy, of Wilmington Lodge,
No. 319, for an interesting extract from the court records of
New Hanover County, it being an item in the will of J oshua
Toomer, dated August 22, 1761 : "To my Brethren the Free-
masons — I shall be glad if they will do me the last honour
of attending my corpse with their jewels and aprons."

Prior to the Revolution, there were other Lodges in North
Carolina, in the vicinity of Wilmington, and the origin
of these may be traced to the part borne in the French and
Indian War by the North Carolina soldiers who were mem-
bers of Military Lodges outside the Colony. On May 13,
1756, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts chartered an Army

4

Lodge in the forces then operating in the North against the
fortress of Crown Point; another Lodge, in the Twenty-
eighth Eegiment of Foot, at Louisburg, Nova Scotia, was
formed by the same authority on the 13th of November,
1758; and again, January 18, 1759, a charter for a Lodge
was also issued to other troops operating against Canada. In
the Crown Point campaign there was a company of North
Carolina volunteers whose members had re-enlisted after
having been mustered out at the end of the Braddock expe-
dition against Fort DuQuesne. The commanding officer
of this North Carolina company was Caleb Granger, of New
Hanover County, who had been Lieutenant-Colonel of the
Regiment of Colonel James Innes, but now was only a Cap-
tain in this band of volunteers, as the small number which
re-enlisted did not warrant so high a rank as he had formerly
held. Granger was made a Mason during his campaign in
the North; and, upon his return home, he settled on his
father's estate below Wilmington. There a Lodge was
formed, but it has so long ceased to work that there is nothing
to show from whence came its charter. Even its name is not
a matter of record, though tradition states that it was called
Hanover Lodge. I am inclined to think (though it is alto-
gether surmise on my part) that this Lodge received its
charter from Provincial Grand Master John Hammerton, at
Charleston, South Carolina, to whose personal history we
shall refer later on. From the number of Masons residing
in the vicinity of Hanover Lodge, the locality came to be
known as Masonboro, and is so called to this day.

In the town of Halifax, North Carolina, is Royal White
Hart Lodge, now No. 2, which ranks next to Saint John's
Lodge at Wilmington among the present Lodges of the State.
This was chartered on August 21, 1767, by the Right Wor-

5

shipful John Salter,* Deputy Grand Master of the Grand
Lodge of England. Of Masonry in Halifax County it
appears from the old manuscript records now kept there that
as early as November 1, 1764, a Lodge had been organized
at Marsh Swamp by authority from Cornelius Harnett, the
"Worshipful Grand Master" of Saint John's Lodge at Wil-
mington. The title here employed to designate Brother
Harnett's station is somewhat different from that now as-
cribed to the presiding officer of a Lodge. What authority,
if any, the Master of one subordinate Lodge then had for
chartering another Lodge I do not know. It could not be
done now. At a later period Brother Harnett probably had
such power, in certain contingencies, when he became Deputy
Provincial Grand Master under Provincial Grand Master
Joseph Montfort. On the 18th of April, 1765, first appears
the name of Royal White Hart Lodge, when a meeting was
held at the house of Daniel Lovel. The officers, with their
titles slightly differing from those now employed, are given
as follows : Frederick Schulzer, Grand Master ; Daniel L'ovel,
Deputy Master ; William Martin, Secretary ; Eobert Goodloe,
Senior Warden ; James Mathews, Junior Warden ; William
Wilson, Senior Stuart, and John Geddy, Junior Stuart.
The other brethren were David Stokes, Joseph Long, Henry
Dowse, Joseph Montfort, and Peter Thompson. This Lodge,
holding its meetings at the houses of different members, con-
tinued to work and make Masons under its old organization
until May 20, 1768. On the date last mentioned it was
reorganized under the charter, heretofore mentioned, from
Deputy Grand Master Salter, dated August 21, 1767. This
charter constituted Joseph Montfort, Master; Joseph Long,

* In 1762 this Colonel John Salter was appointed Senior Grand
Warden, and in 1763 Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of
England, by Washington Shirley, fifth Earl of Ferrers, then Grand
Master of England, who was a first cousin of Governor William
Tryon, of North Carolina. Salter served under several of the suc-
cessors of Lord Ferrers till 1767, when his name disappears from
the roll of officers of the Grand Lodge in England.

6

Senior Warden, and Matthew Brown, Junior Warden. The
number of Royal White Hart Lodge, as recorded on the roll
of the Grand Lodge of England prior to the Revolution, was
at first 403. This number was afterwards changed several
times as follows: to 338 in 1770, 264 in 1780, 265 in 1781,
and 223 in 1792 — the last change being after it had dis-
claimed Masonic allegiance to the Grand Lodge of England,
and was a part of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. At
its session of 1802, the State Legislature, by Chapter 104 of
its enactments, incorporated Royal White Hart Lodge under
the laws of North Carolina.

For much of this information concerning Royal White
Hart Lodge I am indebted to a letter written in 1893 by
Brother James M. Grizzard, then its Worshipful Master, to
the present Chief Justice of our Supreme Court, the Hon-
orable Walter Clark, who was once a member of Royal White
Hart Lodge and now belongs to Hiram Lodge, No. 40, at
Raleigh. The distinguished Brother last named has kindly
placed the letter at my disposal.

In the records of a Quarterly Communication of the Grand
Lodge of Massachusetts, held at the Royal Exchange in
Boston on October 24, 1766, we find mention of a Lodge in
North Carolina called The Fiest Lodge in Pitt County.
This was at a place known as Crown Point. Thomas Cooper,
a merchant residing in Pitt County, was Worshipful Master
of this Lodge, which was chartered by the Right Worshipful
Jeremy Gridley, of Massachusetts. Brother Gridley was
Provincial Grand Master with jurisdiction over any parts
of North America where no other Grand Lodge existed. On
the Feast of Saint John the Baptist, June 24, 1767, the
Lodge in Pitt County sent to the Grand Lodge at Boston the
following list of officers and other members : Thomas Cooper,

7

Master; Peter Blin and John Simpson, Wardens; Kichard
Evans, Treasurer; James Hall, Secretary; Thomas Hardy
and James Hill, Stewards, pro tempore; Eichard Eichard-
son, Tiler; and the following members: William Pratt,
George Miller, John Leslie, Nathaniel Blin, Peter Eichard-
son, J ames Glasgow, Eobert Newell, Peter Johnson, William
Brown, Bolen Hall, John Barber, William Kelly, Eobert
Bignall, George Evans, Lenington Lockhart, William Mc-
Clellan, and Thomas Hall.

At a Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge of
Massachusetts, held in Boston at the Bunch of Grapes Tav-
ern, October 23, 1767, the Eight Worshipful Henry Price,
Past Provincial Grand Master, took the chair as successor to
Grand Master Gridley, who had recently died. At this meet-
ing Acting Grand Master Price confirmed, until the end of
the year, all existing appointments, and it was then that he
also commissioned, as Deputy Provincial Grand Master for
North Carolina, Thomas Cooper, Worshipful Master of the
Lodge in Pitt County. A copy of this commission will be
set forth, as will also what is known of Brother Cooper,
later on in this work.

Saint John's Lodge, of New Bern, is now No. 3 on the
roll of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. The charter of
this Lodge (which is still preserved) is dated January 10,
1772. It was issued by the Eight Worshipful Joseph Mont-
fort, Provincial Grand Master, and countersigned by James
Milner, Deputy Grand Master, and William Brimage, Grand
Secretary. After the downfall of the royal government in
North Carolina, the meetings of this Lodge were for a while
held in the abandoned Tryon Palace, which had been built in
Colonial times as a residence for the Governors of the Prov-
ince. Among the many crimes charged against the dark,
dangerous and unscrupulous Masons of those old days was

8

the burning of this building in 1798, when they learned that
the State intended to sell it ; though, as a matter of fact, the
conflagration was caused by an old negro woman with a light-
wood torch hunting for eggs among the rubbish in its base-
ment The Worshipful Master of Saint J ohn's Lodge, when
it was first organized, was the Honorable Martin Howard,
Chief Justice of the Province of North Carolina. The Lodge
was incorporated by Chapter 51 of the Laws of 1797. By
Chapter 106 of the Laws of 1802 (four years after the de-
struction of the Palace) it was authorized to raise by lottery
money wherewith to build a new Lodge Hall.

The next Lodge to claim our attention is what was first
known as Kinston Lodge, and later as Saint John's Lodge,
No. 4, of Kinston. In 1787, when the Grand Lodge was
reorganized, it was called Kinston Lodge. A few years later,
when the Grand Lodge settled the precedence of its subordi-
nate Lodges, it is recorded as Saint John's Lodge, No. 4,
ranking next after Saint John's Lodge, of New Bern. As
the New Bern Lodge was chartered J anuary 10, 1772, Saint
J ohn's Lodge of Kinston was probably chartered in the same
year. Saint John's Lodge, No. 4, of Kinston, was dissolved
in December, 1806. It was re-chartered November 30, 1827,
as Saint John's Lodge, No. 96. At a meeting of the Grand
Lodge in December, 1837, Kinston Lodge, in that town, was
chartered with the same number, 96. Of Kinston Lodge,
Brother James Banks,' in his manuscript history of Free-
masonry in North Carolina, says it resumed its former name
of Saint John's at a later period. In the Grand Lodge Pro-
ceedings for 1902 I find Saint John's Lodge recorded as
No. 96, and it is recorded as No. 4 in the Proceedings for
1904, so it has only recently gotten back to the original
numerical station of the old Saint John's Lodge, No. 4. It

9

has been twice incorporated by act of the Legislature — as
Saint John's, No. 4, by Chapter 42 of the Laws of 1799,
and as Saint John's, No. 96, by Chapter 59 of the Laws of
1827. Governor Kichard Caswell, who was second to hold
the office of Grand Master of North Carolina after the re-
organization of the Grand Lodge, was a member of the Lodge
at Kinston. When a monument was erected to Governor
Caswell many years later at Kinston, and the corner-stone
was laid by the Grand Lodge, the Grand Master who con-
ducted the ceremonies was the Most Worshipful Henry F.
Grainger, also of Kinston.

At Windsor, in the county of Bertie, was Royal Edwin
Lodge, No. 5. As to this Lodge we find in the manuscript
history of Freemasonry, by Banks, two statements which are
hard to reconcile. Brother Banks first says it was dissolved
in December, 1803. On a later page, when referring to a
meeting of the Grand Lodge in December, 1822, he also
states: "Royal Edwin Lodge, No. 5, Windsor, after having
held her name on the calendar and an honorable position in
the Grand Lodge for thirty-four years, was, on motion, dis-
solved." Chaeity Lodge, at Windsor, now has the number
of Royal Edwin, No. 5, having been chartered less than a
year after the old Lodge became dormant in 1822. Many
members of Royal Edwin were doubtless among the organ-
izers of Charity Lodge, and the two are virtually one and the
same. Of Charity Lodge, Banks says, referring to the Grand
Lodge meeting in December, 1825 : "The Grand Lodge had
granted charters to Sharon Lodge, Greenville, and Charity
Lodge, Windsor, and inadvertently numbered each 78.
Neither seemed willing to relinquish the honor of precedency,
and the matter was referred to a committee, of which Brother
R. D. Spaight was chairman, on the coming in of whose

10

report it was resolved that both Lodges be numbered on the
calendar as 78. Since then Charity Lodge, Windsor, has
been numbered 79." As above stated, Charity Lodge is at
present No. 5 on the roll of the Grand Lodge of North
Carolina. It was made a corporate body by Chapter 139 of
the Laws of 1823.

In Hertford County, at Winton, was Royal William
Lodge, No. 6, which went out of existence in November,
1799, and was probably never revived, as it is not now on the
rolls of the Grand Lodge. Its Worshipful Master, and one
of its representatives at the reorganization of the Grand
Lodge in 1787, was Lieutenant-Colonel Hardy Murfree, one
of the most noted officers of the Continental Line in the War
for Independence, and an original member of the Society
of the Cincinnati. After being a member of Royal William,
Brother Murfree joined a new Lodge, with a name probably
more to his liking, it being American George Lodge, No. 17,
of Murfreesborough, which was chartered by the Grand
Lodge, and which was incorporated (after Murfree had left
the State) by Chapter 69 of the Acts of Assembly for 1812.
Brother Murfree removed to Tennessee in 1807. He was a
faithful Craftsman up to the time of his death, which occurred
near Franklin, Tennessee, on April 6, 1809. Several months
thereafter, on July 9th, a public ceremony, with Masonic
rites, was held at his grave. The town of Murfreesborough,
Tennessee, is named in his honor, but Murfreesborough,
North Carolina, was named for his father. One of the col-
leagues of Hardy Murfree from Royal William Lodge, when
the Grand Lodge was reorganized, was William Person Lit-
tle, afterwards a member of Hiram Lodge, No. 24, of Wil-
liamsborough, in Granville County. Like Murfree, Brother
Little has a municipal namesake, the town of Littleton, in

11

Halifax County being named for him — or rather for a
country-seat called Littleton which he built.

fa

On the 8th of November, 1775, occurred the first meeting
of Unanimity Lodge, now No. 7, of Edenton. Its Colonial
number is not known, though its charter was one of those
granted by Provincial Grand Master Montfort. This Lodge
became dormant in November, 1799, and was later revived
under a different number. Finally it took back its original
number, and is now actively at work. By Chapter 126 of
the Laws of 1809, it was incorporated as Unanimity Lodge,
No. 54, of Edenton. This Lodge has for more than a hun-
dred years held its meetings in the old Colonial Court House
of Chowan County.

fa

Union Lodge, No. 8, of Fayetteville, had its name changed
shortly after the Eevolution (November 17, 1788) to Phoe-
nix Lodge, No. 8, and still works under that designation.
Some suppose this Lodge to be of Scotch origin, but there is
no proof whatever to sustain that contention. Its origin is
unknown, but its legality was recognized at the reorganiza-
tion of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina in 1787 — in fact,
it was this Lodge which set the movement on foot to re-
organize the Grand Lodge. Phoenix Lodge was created a
corporation by Chapter 102 of the Laws of 1798.

fa

12

Old Cone Lodge, No. 9, was at Salisbury, and has long
since passed out of existence. Among its members in the
period just following the Revolution were Deputy Grand
Master Montfort Stokes (later Governor of North Carolina),
Colonel John Armstrong, Colonel Adlai Osborne, William
Lee Alexander, and others.

We learn from an entry on the proceedings at the time of
the reorganization of the Grand Lodge in 1787 that a me-
morial was received from Dobnock Lodge, No. 5, of Warren
County, asking for recognition. In response to this, its two
representatives, Brothers John Macon and Henry Hill were
welcomed to the floor, but were not given the privilege of
voting in the election of Grand Lodge Officers, etc., Dornock
Lodge not being held to be legally constituted. Of this Lodge
later mention will be made. I think it was chartered during
the Revolution by Deputy Grand Master Harnett after the
death of Grand Master Montfort had nullified his authority
— hence the irregularity of its origin.

Warren County was a part of the old Colonial county of
Bute, and there was also a Lodge in that section called Bland-
ford-Bute Lodge, or Blandford Lodge, of Bute (I am
uncertain which), and mention of this Lodge will also be
made later on, in the account of the reorganization of the
Grand Lodge.

During the Revolution the Grand Lodge of Pennslyvania
issued a warrant (No. 20) for the establishment of an Army

13

V

Lodge among the North Carolina troops, but this warrant
was later revoked, and nothing is known of the Lodge in
question.

This ends the list of Colonial and Kevolutionary Lodges.
The first Lodge chartered by the reorganized Grand Lodge
of North Carolina after the Revolution was Johnston-
Caswell Lodge, No. 10, of Warrenton. This Lodge, and
those of later date, it is not my purpose to discuss, but I shall
now revert to the Colonial period, giving some account of the
old Provincial Grand Lodge of North Carolina, the joint
Grand Lodge of North Carolina and Tennessee after the
Revolution, and also add some biographical sketches of the
Grand Lodge Officers who had jurisdiction over North Caro-
lina prior to the War for Independence.

Before closing my discussion of the subordinate Lodges
named above, I may add that it is my opinion that every one
chartered between 1771 and 1776 was derived from Provin-
cial Grand Master Joseph Montfort. As that officer lived
within the Province of North Carolina I do not see how it
could ever become necessary for a Lodge to go to European
jurisdictions for authority to work.

14

EARLY HISTORY OF THE GRAND LODGE OF
NORTH CAROLINA.

Though Provincial Grand Master John Hammerton, of
South Carolina, is supposed to have had Masonic jurisdiction
over the Colony of North Carolina as early as 1736, and
Deputy Provincial Grand Master Thomas Cooper (holding
office by authority of the Grand Lodge at Boston) lived in
the Colony in 1767, there seems to have been no separate
and distinct Grand Lodge of North Carolina before 1771,
when the Duke of Beaufort, Grand Master of England, made
Joseph Montfort, of Halifax, North Carolina, Provincial
Grand Master of the Province, with jurisdiction extending
over the whole Continent of North America where no other
Grand Lodge had jurisdiction. Montfort at first appointed
James Milner to be Deputy Provincial Grand Master; and,
after Milner's death, Cornelius Harnett succeeded him as
Deputy Grand Master. William Brimage was Grand Secre-
tary, his term probably extending from the first foundation of
the Grand Lodge in 1771 till the death of Provincial Grand
Master Montfort in 1776. Montfort's death nullified all the
offices held under him. Of Hammerton, Cooper, Montfort,
Milner, Harnett, and Brimage separate sketches will be
found in the present work.

Thinking it may be of interest to the Craft in our day, a
copy of the commission or deputation to Thomas Cooper is
here inserted, the same being taken from the records of the
Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and first printed in the North
Carolina Grand Lodge Proceedings for 1896.

(Seal.) Henry Price, G. M.

to all and every, our klght worshipful and loving
Brethren (Free and Accepted Masons), now residing
or that may hereafter reside in the province of
North Carolina : We, Henry Price, Esqre., Grand Mas-

15

ter of the ancient and honourable society of free
and Accepted Masons of all such places in North
America where no other Grand Master is appointed,
send Greeting:

Whereas, Our Eight Worshipful and Loving Brother, Mr.
Thomas Cooper, of Pitt County, in the Province aforesaid,
Merchant, obtain'd of the late Eight Worshipful Jeremy
Gridley, Esqre., Grand Master of Masons in North America,
our Most Worthy Predecessor, a Deputation to be Master of
a Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons in Pitt county afore-
said; and whereas our said Brother Cooper did (since he
obtain'd the said Deputation) represent to our said Pre-
decessor that by reason of the great distance of some of the
Brethren's abode from the place of their usual Assembling
in Pitt county aforesaid, their Attendance on Lodges was
very inconvenient and troublesome to those members, and
the business of Masonry could not be carried on with that
Eegularity and Certainty that it otherwise would,

For the remedy of these inconveniences, Now therefore
Know ye, That by Virtue of the Power and Authority com-
mitted to us by the Eight Honourable and Eight Worshipful
Anthony, Lord Viscount Montague, Grand Master of Masons,
Do hereby nominate, Appoint and Authorize, our said Eight
Worshipful Brother, Thomas Cooper, to be our Deputy
Grand Master within the Province of North Carolina afore-
said, and do impower him to congregate all the Brethren
that at present reside (or may hereafter reside) in said
Province, into one or more Lodges, as he may think fit, and
in such place or places within the same as shall most redound
to the general benefit of Masonry: He taking special care
that Masters, Wardens and all other proper Officers to a
Lodge appertaining, be duly chosen at their next Meeting
preceding the Feasts of St. John the Baptist, or St John
the Evangelist, or both, as shall be most convenient, and so
on annually. Also that no person be admitted into any Lodge
within this Deputation at any time, but regular made Ma-

16

sons. And that all and every the regulations contained in
the Printed Book of Constitutions (except so far as they
have been altered by the Grand Lodge in London) be kept
and observed, with such other instructions as may be trans-
mitted by us or our Successors. That an Account in writing
be annually sent to us, our Successors or our Deputys, of the
Names of the Members of the Lodge or Lodges, and their
place of abode, with the days and places of their meeting,
with any other Things that may be for the Benefit of Ma-
sonry in those Parts; and that the Feasts of St. John the
Baptist, or St. John the Evangelist, be kept yearly, and Dine
together on those Days or as near them as may be. That for
each Lodge constituted by him, he is to Remit to the Grand
Secretary in this place, three guineas and one half, two of
which is for Registering them here. Lastly, a Charitable
Fund must be established for the relief of Poor distressed
Brothers in those Parts, in such manner as is practiced else-
where by Regular Lodges.

Given under our hand and the seal of Masonry at
Boston, in New England, the thirtieth day of Decem-
ber, Anno Domini, One Thousand, Seven Hundred and
Sixty Seven; and of Masonry, Five Thousand Seven
Hundred and Sixty Seven. Witness the Deputy Grand
Master and Grand Wardens whose names are hereunto
subscribed.

John Rowe, D. G. M.
Archibald McNeill, S. G. W.
John Cutler, J. G. W.

By the Grand Master's Command :
Abr'm Savage, G. Sec'ry.

The following is a copy made from the original commis-
sion issued by Henry Somerset, Duke of Beaufort, Grand
Master of the Grand Lodge of England, constituting and
appointing Joseph Montfort Provincial Grand Master of and
for America. The original of this document now hangs in
the Grand Lodge Hall of North Carolina at Raleigh :

17

(Seal.) Beaufort, G. M.

To All and Every our Right Worshipful, Worship-
ful, and Loving Brethren. We, Henry Somerset, Duke
of Beaufort, Marquis & Earl of Worcester, Earl of
Glamorgan, Viscount Grosmont, Baron Herbert, Lord
of Ragland, Chepstow & Gower, Baron Beaufort of
Caldecot Castle, Grand Master of the most Ancient
and Honourable Society of Free and Accepted Masons,
Greeting :

Know ye that we, of the great Trust and Confidence re-
posed in our Right Worshipful and well beloved Brother,
Joseph Montfort, Esquire, of Halifax, in the Province
of North Carolina, in America, Do hereby Constitute
and Appoint him the said Joseph Montfort, Provincial
Grand Master of and for America, with full power and
Authority in due form to make Masons & Constitute and
Regulate Lodges, as Occasion may Require. And also to Do
and Execute all and every such other Acts and things ap-
pertaining to said Office as usually have been and ought to be
done and executed by Other Provincial Grand Masters, he
the said Joseph Montfort taking special care that all and
every the Members of every Lodge he shall Constitute have
been Regularly made Masons and that they do observe, per-
form, and keep all and every the Rules, Orders and Regula-
tions contained in the Book of Constitutions (Except such as
have been or may be Repealed at any Quarterly Communica-
tion or other General Meeting) together also with all such
other Rules, Orders, Regulations, and Instructions, as shall
from time to time be transmitted by Us, or by the Honourable
Charles Dillon, our Deputy or by any of our Successors,
Grand Masters or their Deputys for the time being. And
we hereby Will and Require you our said Provincial Grand
Master to cause four Quarterly Communications to be held
Yearly, one whereof to be upon or as near the ffeast Day of
Saint John the Baptist as conveniently may be, and that
you promote on those and all other occasions whatever may
2

18

be for the honour and Advantage of Masonry and the Benefit
of the Grand Charity, and that You yearly send to us or our
Successors, Grand Masters, an Account in Writing of the
proceedings therein and also of what Lodges you Constitute
and when and where held with a list of the Members thereof
& copies of all such Kules, Orders & Regulations as shall be
made for the good Government of the same, with whatever
else you shall do by Virtue of these Presents. And that you
at the same time remit to the Treasurer of the Society for
the time being at London, Three Pounds, Three Shillings
sterling for every Lodge you shall Constitute, for the use of
the Grand Charity and other necessary purposes.

Given at London under our hand & Seal of Masonry
this 14th day of January, A. L. 5771, A. D. 1771.

By the Grand Master's Command :

Chas. Dillon, D. G. M.

Witness :

Jas. Heseltine, G. S.

The penmanship of the above commission is a work of art,
and the document is also- handsomely embellished with Ma-
sonic emblems — above it being the Square, Level and Twenty-
four inch Gauge, while below are represented the Great Lights
of Masonry.

After its organization in 1771, the Provincial Grand
Lodge of North Carolina sometimes met at the town of Hali-
fax, sometimes at New Bern, and sometimes at Edenton.
Then the turmoil of war put an end to Grand Lodge work,
and it was not until 1786, Anno Lucis 5786, that steps
toward a revival took place. Concerning this revival we
quote the language of an address in a Masonic work, Ahiman
Rezon and Masonic Ritual, published at New Bern, North
Carolina, in 1805. The address in question was delivered
by Francois Xavier Martin, who was a Masonic historian —
as well as a historian of two States, North Carolina and

19

Louisiana — of which latter he became Chief Justice after
his removal thereto. In the Masonic address by Brother
Martin, above alluded to, he says: "The Great Architect of
the Universe having permitted a dissolution of the political
bands which united North Carolina to Great Britain^ pro-
priety seemed to point out that the Lodges of this State
should not remain longer under any allegiance to, or depen-
dence on, the Grand Lodge or Grand Master of that King-
dom. In 5786 the Union Lodge, of Fayetteville, being ad-
vised thereto by a number of Visiting Brothers from the
different parts of the State, proposed that a Convention of all
the regular constituted Lodges of North Carolina should be
held at Fayetteville, on the 24th of J une, 5787, to take under
consideration the propriety of declaring by a solemn act the
independence of the Lodges of North Carolina, and to ap-
point a State Grand Master and other Grand Officers. The
great distance to, and small intercourse between, the different
parts of this extensive State having prevented a sufficient
number of delegates from attending, the Convention ad-
journed to the town of Tarborough, on the 27th of December
following, when the [llasonic] declaration of independence
took place, and a form of government was adopted. The
Most Worshipful Samuel Johnston having been appointed
Grand Master, and the Right Worshipful Richard Caswell
(then Governor of this State) Deputy Grand Master, the
first Grand Lodge of North Carolina was held on the follow-
ing day."

In the preliminary meeting, or Convention, at Tarborough,
Brother John Mare, of Unanimity Lodge at Edenton, was
chosen to preside, and Brother Benjamin Manchester, of St.
John's Lodge at New Bern, acted as Secretary. When Gov-
ernor Samuel Johnston was elected Most Worshipful Grand
Master, he was duly installed by Brother Mare, whose charge
to the distinguished statesman who had been chosen to pre-
side in the East is still preserved.* In addition to Grand

♦Ahiman Rezon and Masonic Ritual of North Carolina (1805) part
II, page 6.

20

Master Johnston and Deputy Grand Master Caswell were
other Grand Officers as follows : The Eight Worshipful Rich-
ard Ellis, Senior Grand Warden; the Eight Worshipful
Michael Payne, Junior Grand Warden ; the Eight Worship-
ful Abner Neale, Grand Treasurer ; and the Eight Worship-
ful James Glasgow, Grand Secretary.

As it will no doubt be of interest to the Craft in this Year
of Light 5906 to know the personnel of the Convention at
Tarborough, with the Lodge to which each Brother belonged,
we here give the list in full — not in the order of their sen-
iority, but as they were entered on the rolls of the meeting :

Unanimity Lodge, of Edenton: John Mare and Stephen
Cabarrus.

Saint John's Lodge, No. 2, of New Bern: Benjamin
Manchester and Abner Neale.

Eoyal Edwin Lodge, No. 4, of Windsor : John Johnston,
Andrew Oliver, and Silas William Arnett.

Eoyal White Hart Lodge, No. 403, of Halifax: Wil-
liam Muir, Samuel MacDougall, and John Geddy.

Eoyal William Lodge, No. 8, of Winton: Hardy Mur-
free, Patrick Garvey, and William Person Little.

Union Lodge (afterwards Phoenix Lodge), of Eayette-
ville: James Porterfield.

Blandford (or Blandford-Bute Lodge), of Warrenton:
Edward Jones and William Johnson.

Old Cone Lodge, of Salisbury : John Armstrong.

Kinston Lodge, No. 3, of Kinston: Eichard Caswell,
James Glasgow, and William Eandall.

Dornock Lodge, No. 5, of Warren County : J ohn Macon
and Henry Hill.

As already noted, Dornock Lodge was not considered to be
legally constituted, and hence was not recognized in its cor-
porate capacity, though Brothers Macon and Hill were ad-
judged to be lawfully made members of the fraternity ; and,
as such, were given the privileges of the floor both in the
Convention and in the Grand Lodge organization which was
effected by the Convention.

21

The above "Masonic ancestors" were a set of men from
whom any organization should feel a pride in tracing its
descent. Nearly all of them had gained distinction in the
councils or on fields of battle during the then recent War of
the Revolution. Caswell was the first Governor of the inde-
pendent State of North Carolina, was re-elected Governor
after a lapse of several years, and Johnston succeeded him
in the Executive Chair at the close of his second term. Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Hardy Murfree^as we .have already noted,
was a splendid soldier. He had led his North Carolina bat-
talion on many fields of blood, among its other desperate
fights being the storming of Stony Point by General Wayne.
Stephen Cabarrus, of French nativity and famed as a legis-
lator, was Speaker of the House of Commons of North Caro-
lina, and has a county named in his honor. John Johnston
(brother of Governor Samuel Johnston, Grand Master) had
been on the Committee of Safety of the Edenton District, and
also sat in the two Congresses held at Halifax in 1776.
Colonel John Geddy, a fighting officer of militia, had served
in the first independent Congress of North Carolina at New
Bern, in April, 1774. William Person Little, barely of age
when the Grand Ixxjge was organized, afterwards became
State Senator, and the town of Littleton took its name from
his later home in Halifax County. Another Mason in the
above Grand Lodge was Lieutenant-Colonel J ohn Armstrong,
of the Continental Line, who had been Deputy Adjutant
General in the Southern Army under Gates. Nor should we
fail to record in this connection, the name of Captain John
Macon, a veteran of the Seventh North Carolina Continental
Eegiment, who was also prominent as a legislator. Then
there were other brethren of scarcely less note, as shown by
the roll of subordinate Lodges above set forth.

At its session in New Bern on June 25, 1791, the Grand
Lodge of North Carolina settled finally the much disputed
question of the precedence of its original subordinate Lodges
as follows :

22

No. 1, Saint John's Lodge, of Wilmington.
No. 2, Royal White Hart Lodge, of Halifax.
No. 3, Saint John's Lodge, of New Bern.
No. 4, Saint J ohn's Lodge, or Kinston Lodge, of Kins-
ton.

No. 5, Royal Edwin Lodge, now Charity Lodge, of
Windsor.

No. 6, Royal William Lodge, of Winton.
No. 7, Unanimity Lodg^, of Edenton.
No. 8, Phoenix Lodge, formerly Union Lodge, of Fay-
etteville.

No. 9, Old Cone Lodge, of Salisbury.

The tenth on the roll, J ohnston-Caswell Lodge, of War-
renton, was the first which came into existence after the
Revolution, and was given its name as a compliment to the
first two Most Worshipful Grand Masters of the Grand
Lodge of North Carolina as an independent body, Governors
Samuel Johnston and Richard Caswell. Past Master A. B.
Andrews, Jr., of William G. Hill Lodge, No. 218, at Raleigh,
who has made an investigation of the question, has a theory
that the two old Colonial or Revolutionary Lodges in Warren
County, Blandford or Blandford-Bute Lodge and Dor-
nock Lodge surrendered their charters immediately after
the reorganization of the Grand Lodge and merged into
Johnston-Caswell Lodge. Warren County is a part of the old
Colonial county of Bute, and it seems uncertain whether one
of these old Lodges was simply called Blandford of Bute, or
Blandford-Bute. All of the original Lodges, above enumer-
ated, have been discussed at more length at a former place in
the present work. As to the numbers they held before the
Revolution — St. John's (New Bern), No. 2; Royal White
Hart, No. 403; Royal William, No. 8; Royal Edwin, No. 4;
Kinston, No. 3 ; and Dornock, No. 5 — these, except the Eng-
lish number, 403, of Royal White Hart, are probably the
numbers by which they were recorded on the roll of the
Provincial Grand Lodge of North Carolina before the Revo-

23

lution. The numbers of Unanimity, Royal Edwin, Union,
Blandford-Bute, and Old Cone Lodges are not given on the
first roll of the meeting in Tarborough (December, 1787),
and Saint J ohn's Lodge, of Wilmington, was not there repre-
sented.

The Lodges which received their charters from the Grand
Lodge of England were claimed by that Grand Jurisdiction
as late as 1813. At the latter time the claim (which had not
been recognized in America for years) was relinquished. So
it will be seen that our Mother Grand Lodge beyond the seas
gave up her American children very reluctantly.

The statement has often been made that the Grand Lodge
of North Carolina is descended from the Grand Lodge of
Scotland. What gave rise to this theory (which had cur-
rency a hundred years ago as well as in our day) is utterly
inexplicable so far as the investigations of the present writer
are concerned.

In November, 1797, when General William Eichardson
Davie, afterwards Governor, was Grand Master, the Grand
Lodge of North Carolina was incorporated by an act of the
State Legislature (Chapter 10 of the Laws of 1797). In
the Assembly which passed this act, the Speaker of the
House, of Commons was Benjamin Smith, afterwards Gover-
nor of the State and Grand Master of the Grand Lodge. The
following is a copy of the act of incorporation :

"Be it enacted b1t the General Assembly of the
State of North Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by
the authority of the same, That the Most Worshipful
Grand Master, the Bight Worshipful Deputy Grand Master,
Wardens and members, who are at present, or in the future
may be of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina, be, and they
are hereby constituted and declared to be a body corporate
under the name and title of the Grand Lodge of North Caro-
lina ; and by such name they shall have perpetual succession
and a common seal, and may sue and be sued, plead and be im-
pleaded, acquire and transfer property, and pass all such
by-laws and regulations as shall not be inconsistent with the

24

Constitution and Laws of this State or of the United States,
anything to the contrary notwithstanding."

With this legislative enactment, by which the Grand Lodge
was erected into a corporate body, we close the present divis-
ion of this work, in order to take into consideration some
other matters of Masonic interest in the epoch following the
War of the [Revolution.

THE JOINT GRAND LODGE OF NORTH CAROLINA
AND TENNESSEE.

Though this narrative has heretofore been confined to
Masonry as it existed about the time of the Revolutionary
War and prior thereto, it may be well now to add something
concerning the origin of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee,
which was created by and out of the Grand Lodge of North
Carolina. From 1801 to 1813 (in which latter year the
independent grand jurisdiction of Tennessee was formed),
one Grand Lodge covered two States; and it was known as
The Grand Lodge of North Carolina and Tennessee.
At the time of the erection of the independent Grand Lodge
of Tennessee, in 1813, there were within its jurisdiction seven
subordinate Lodges duly chartered, and two under dispensa-
tion. Of course, all of the chartered Lodges had worked
under dispensations before their charters were received. The
full list of Tennessee subordinate Lodges was as follows :

Saint Tammany Lodge, No. 29 of North Carolina, No. 1,
of Tennessee, located at Nashville, chartered December 17,
1796, by Grand Master William Eichardson Davie. Con-
cerning this Lodge we quote from the manuscript history of

25

Freemasonry in North Carolina, by Brother James Banks,
who, referring to the Grand Lodge meeting in 1796, says:
"At this communication the Grand Lodge of North Carolina
granted its first charter beyond the limits of the State. The
charter was granted to brethren residing in the town of
Nashville, Tennessee, by the name of 'Saint Tammany, No.
1, of Tennessee.' " The same manuscript gives a resolution
passed by the Grand Lodge of North Carolina in 1800,
changing the name of Saint Tammany to Habmony Lodge,
with the same numbers as above. Harmony Lodge was dis-
solved by the joint Grand Lodge of North Carolina and Ten-
nessee in 1808. One of its members was Andrew Jackson,
afterwards Grand Master of Tennessee, and later President
of the United States.

Tennessee Lodge, No. 41 of North Carolina, No. % of
Tennessee, located at Knoxville, chartered November 30,

1800, by Grand Master William Polk. This was called
Polk Lodge while it was working under dispensation. Pos-
sibly the latter title was not retained because the Grand
Master felt a delicacy in creating by charter a Lodge named
for himself. The charter officers of this Lodge were : Gover-
nor John Sevier, Worshipful Master; James Grant, Senior
Warden, and George Washington Campbell, Junior Warden.

A

Greenville Lodge, No. 43 of North Carolina, No. 3 of
Tennessee, located at Greenville, chartered December 11,

1801, by Grand Master William Polk. The charter officers
of this Lodge were : George Washington Campbell, Worship-
ful Master; Jenkin Whiteside, Senior Warden, and John
Rhea, J unior Warden.

26

Newport Lodge, No. 50 of North Carolina, No. 4 of
Tennessee, located at Newport, chartered December 5, 1806,
by Grand Master John Hall. The charter officers of this
Lodge were : Henry Stephen, Worshipful Master ; Nathaniel
Mitchel, Senior Warden, and Augustine Jenkins, Junior
Warden.

Overton Lodge, No. 51 of North Carolina, No. 5 of Ten-
nessee, located at Rogersville, chartered November 21, 1807,
by Grand Master John Hall. The charter officers of this
Lodge were: Samuel Powell, Worshipful Master; Jonathan
Spyker, Senior Warden, and John Johnston, Junior Warden.

King Solomon Lodge, No. 52 of North Carolina, No. 6
of Tennessee, located at Gallatin, chartered December 9,
1808, by Grand Master John Hall. The charter officers of
this Lodge were: John Johnston, Worshipful Master; An-
drew Buckham, Senior Warden, and John Mitchell, Junior
Warden.

Hiram Lodge, No. 55 of North Carolina, No. 7 of Ten-
nessee, located at Franklin, chartered December 11, 1809,
by Grand Master Benjamin Smith. The charter officers of
this Lodge were: Charles McAlister, Worshipful Master;
Guilford Dudley, Senior Warden, and George Hulme, J unior
Warden. When this Lodge was under dispensation, before
receiving its charter, it was called Franklin Lodge. The
application for its dispensation was forwarded to the joint
Grand Lodge of North Carolina and Tennessee by Lieuten-

27

ant-Colonel Hardy Murfree (heretofore mentioned), but
Brother Murfree died before the charter was granted.

Cumberland Lodge, No. 60 of North Carolina, No. 8 of
Tennessee, located at Nashville, erected under a dispensation
June 24, 1812, by Grand Master Robert Williams. The
officers named in the dispensation were: Judge John Overton,
Worshipful Master ; Lemuel T. Turner, Senior Warden, and
William P. Anderson, Junior Warden. The above dispensa-
tion was surrendered to the Grand Lodge of Tennessee after
the formation of the new independent Grand Lodge, and
another dispensation, dated February 8, 1814, was then
granted it by Tennessee authority. At the next Annual Com-
munication of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee it was duly
chartered.

Rhea Lodge, No. 61 of North Carolina, No. 9 of Tennes-
see, located at Port Royal, erected under a dispensation May
1, 1812, by Grand Master Robert Williams. The officers
named in the dispensation were: John Baker, Worshipful
Master; John E. Turner, Senior Warden, and James Nor-
fleet, Junior Warden. On October 1, 1814, it was chartered
by the Grand Lodge of Tennessee, its name being then
changed to Western Stab Lodge. The charter officers of
Western Star Lodge were : J ohn E. Turner, Worshipful Mas-
ter; James Norffeet, Senior Warden, and George T. Wair,
Junior Warden.

This concludes the list of the subordinate Lodges erected
in Tennessee by North Carolina authority. At Clover Bot-
tom, in Davidson County, Tennessee, Philanthropic Lodge

28

was erected by the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, but its charter
was afterwards revoked upon a realization that the joint
Grand Lodge of North Carolina and Tennessee had a just
claim to jurisdiction in the territory where it was located.
It was represented to Kentucky that charters from Great
Britain had been received in Colonial days constituting a
Grand Lodge in the then British Province of North Carolina,
and this Provincial Grand Lodge of North Carolina of course
included the territory later covered by Tennessee, as that
territory was then a part of North Carolina ; that Kentucky
herself then had no Grand Lodge, but was a part of Virginia,
and Masonically under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge
of that Province ; hence that North Carolina had jurisdiction
over Tennessee by right of prior occupancy. Though Ken-
tucky, about the year 1812, yielded to the justice of this
claim, the dispute was for a while the source of some ill
feeling between the Grand Lodges, and in 1809 the matter
was taken under consideration by a committee whose chair-
man was Hutchins G. Burton, afterwards Grand Master and
also Governor. This committee reported that justice to the
Craft compelled them to perform the painful duty of recom-
mending to the joint Grand Lodge of North Carolina and
Tennessee a resolution providing "that one request more be
made to the Grand Lodge of Kentucky to call in any charter
or charters, which may have been issued by them constituting
a Lodge or Lodges in the State of Tennessee, within the juris-
diction of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina and Tennes-
see; and, if the same is not by them done in a convenient
time, that this Grand Lodge will forever renounce all farther
communications with them, or any of their subordinate
Lodges; and that no Lodge under the jurisdiction of this
Grand Lodge shall have any communications with them, or
any Lodge under their jurisdiction." Though the relations
between North Carolina and Kentucky were sorely strained, a
reconciliation was finally effected, and it is devoutly to be
hoped that never again will exist between these sister Grand
Lodges a cause for strain or break in the cement of brotherly

29

love and affection "which unites us into one sacred band, or
society of friends and brothers, among whom no contention
should ever exist but that noble contention, or rather emula-
tion, of who can best work and best agree."

As to the title "Grand Lodge of North Carolina and Ten-
nessee," that designation was assumed about the year 1801,
yet the legal style of the grand jurisdiction (under the legis-
lative act of incorporation, heretofore quoted) was still The
Grand Lodge of North Carolina. The last meeting of the
joint jurisdiction of North Carolina and Tennessee was held
at Raleigh in November, 1812. At this meeting a petition
was received from the subordinate Lodges of Tennessee, ask-
ing that an independent Grand Lodge be set up in that State.
It was also stated that six chartered subordinate Lodges and
three under dispensation had been represented at a meeting
in Knoxville, December 2, 1811, for the purpose of making
this request. The best of feeling had always prevailed in the
joint jurisdiction of the two sections ; and now, for the good
of the Craft, the mother Grand Lodge of North Carolina was
glad to gratify the wishes of her daughter beyond the moun-
tains, sad though the parting might be. Grand Master Robert
Williams presided over the joint Grand Lodge of North
Carolina and Tennessee at the time of the reception of the
above petition, and this distinguished brother had the honor
of signing the charter which brought into being the new and
independent Grand Lodge of Tennessee. By this charter,
dated September 30, 1813, the subordinate Lodges located
in Tennessee were ordered to assemble their representatives
in the town of Knoxville, on December 27, 1813, to formally
constitute The Grand Lodge of Tennessee. At this meeting
was proclaimed the charter or deed of relinquishment from
the Grand Lodge of North Carolina, which ran as follows :

Sit Lux et Lux Fuit.

to all and every of our rlght worshipful, wor-
shipful, and well-beloved brethren, greeting i

Know Ye, That the Most Worshipful Eobert Wil-

30

liams, Esq., General, &c., Grand Master of the Grand
Lodge of North Carolina and Tennessee, of Ancient
York Masons, has ordained and directed as follows,
viz.,

I, Kobert Williams, Grand Master of Masons, by the
powers and authorities vested in me, as such, by the Ancient
Land Marks of our Order, and by and with the advice and
consent of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina and Tennessee,
for this purpose had and obtained, Do hereby Declare and
Ordain that the following Lodges within the State of Tennes-
see, viz. : Tennessee Lodge, No. 41, in the town of Knoxville ;
Greeneville Lodge, No. 43, in the town of Greeneville ; New-
port Lodge, No. 50, in the town of Newport ; Overton Lodge,
No. 51, in the town of Eogersville; King Solomon Lodge,
No. 52, in the town of Gallatin; Hiram Lodge, No. 55, in
the town of Franklin; Cumberland Lodge, No. 60, in the
town of Nashville; Western Star Lodge, No. 61, in Port
Eoyal — Be and they are hereby authorized and em-
powered either by themselves or by their Representatives,
chosen for that purpose, to constitute a Grand Lodge for the
State of Tennessee. And I do, as Grand Master of Masons,
by and with the advice and consent of our Grand Lodge afore-
said, renounce and release unto the said Lodges all jurisdic-
tion over them: and I do hereby transfer and make over to
the said Lodges all the powers and authorities which our
Grand Lodge had, by ancient usage, a right to exercise over
them or either of them, upon the following terms and con-
ditions, to-wit : That the said Lodges, or a majority of them,
shall within twelve months after the reception of this author-
ity by them, either by themselves or by Eepresentatives duly
appointed by them for that purpose, meet in Convention, and
then and there make such rules, regulations or laws, for the
government of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee as they may
think proper; that the said Grand Lodge, when thus con-
stituted, shall once in each and every year, elect a brother of
our Order as Grand Master of said Grand Lodge ; that they
also shall elect a Grand Senior Warden, Grand Junior War-

31

den, Grand Secretary, and Grand Treasurer ; that the Grand
Master, so elected and installed, under his own sign manual
shall appoint a Deputy Grand Master, Grand Senior Deacon,
Grand Junior Deacon, Grand Chaplain, Grand Pursuivant,
Grand Marshal, Grand Sword Bearer, and one or more
Grand Tylers, also such number of Stewards and other in-
ferior Officers as he may from time to time think proper to
make.

It is further Ordered and Ordained that the Grand Lodge
of Tennessee, thus constituted, shall be vested with all powers
and authorities which any other Grand Lodge, known among
our Craft, has a right to use and exercise ; and that they may
make and constitute new Lodges at their discretion within
their jurisdiction, and the Charters of each and every Lodge,
as well those by them to be made as those recited in this in-
strument, to arrest and dissolve upon such terms as the said
Grand Lodge of Tennessee may think proper to prescribe.

And it is further Ordered and Ordained that the said
Grand Lodge of Tennessee take special care that the Ancient
Land Marks of our most ancient and honourable Institution
shall be in every instance whatever solemnly kept and pre-
served.

In testimony whereof I do hereunto set my hand

AND CAUSE THE GREAT SeAL OF MASONRY TO BE AFFIXED, AT

Raleigh, this 30th day of September, A. L. 5813, A. D.
1813.

(Seal) Eobt. Williams.

Test:

A. Lucas,

Grand Secretary.

The first Grand Master of the new Grand Lodge of Ten-
nessee was the Honorable Thomas Claiborne, later a represen-
tative from Tennessee in the fifteenth Congress of the United
States at the sessions of 1817-1819. The other Grand Lodge
Officers were: George Wilson, Deputy Grand Master; John
Hall, Grand Senior Warden; Abraham K. Shaifer, Grand

32

Junior Warden; Edward Scott, Grand Secretary; Thomas
McCorry, Grand Treasurer; Reverend Stephen Brooks,
Grand Chaplain; John Bright, Grand Tiler. As Grand
Deacons were not immediately appointed, Brothers McCorry
and Scott filled those places on the first opening of the Grand
Lodge of Tennessee. The new Grand Lodge began work on
the Feast of Saint John the Evangelist, December 27, 1813.

When the land forming Tennessee was a part of North
Carolina, and more latterly when the two separate States
were united to form one grand Masonic jurisdiction, Grand
Masters of the Grand Lodge were elected for the following
terms: Samuel Johnston, December 11, 1787-November 18,
1788; Richard Caswell, November 18, 1788-November 21,
1789 (died November 10, 1789, eleven days before his term
expired) ; Samuel Johnston, again, November 21, 1789~De-
cember 14, 1792 ; William Richardshon Davie, December 14,
1792-December 4, 1799 ; William Polk, December 4, 1799-
December 12, 1802; John Louis Taylor, December 12,
1802-December 12, 1805; John Hall, December 12, 1805-
December 16, 1808; Benjamin Smith, December 16,
1808-November 29, 1811 ; and Robert Williams, November
29, 1811-November 26, 1814 (in which latter year Taylor
again became Grand Master). In the history of North Caro-
lina there cannot be found a list of names more honored than
the ones just mentioned. Johnston, Caswell, Davie, and
Smith were all Governors of the State and all noted patriots
of the Revolution ; Taylor was Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court, and Hall an Associate Justice of that tribunal; Polk
was one of Washington's most trusted officers in the then
recent war ; and Williams, a member of Congress, Adjutant
General, etc. Governor Benjamin Smith was a nephew and
namesake of that Benjamin Smith who had been elected
Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodge of South Caro-
lina in 1742. Of the connection between the two we shall
make mention later on.

The above is a brief — all too brief — account of the joint
Grand Lodge of North Carolina and Tennessee. North Caro-

33

lina has chartered subordinate Lodges in Mississippi and
elsewhere at a later date, and these have aided in forming
new Grand Lodges since the erection of that of Tennessee in
1813. These additional Grand Lodges, however, will not be
mentioned herein, as the present work only deals with the
earlier history of the Craft.

Seven years hence — on December 27, 1913 — the Grand
Lodge of Tennessee will have completed one hundred years
of independent existence. This time is not far in the future,
and the brethren residing in Tennessee should see to it that
so important an anniversary in the history of Masonry should
not pass unnoticed. Among other things appropriate to the
occasion should be work of an historical nature in keeping
with the importance of the subject That it may be well and
worthily done, if undertaken, is the earnest hope of the writer
who now submits this brief outline of whilom "Grand Lodge
of North Carolina and Tennessee."

Some Grand Lodge Officers who had
Jurisdiction over North Carolina
in Colonial Days.

SOME GRAND LODGE OFFICERS WHO HAD
JURISDICTION OVER NORTH CAROLINA
IN COLONIAL DAYS.

And now we leave the general discussion of Freemasonry
as it existed in North Carolina from the Colonial period to
the time just succeeding the Eevolution, and shall have
something to say of the personal history of the Grand Lodge
officers who ruled the Craft in Colonial days, but not includ-
ing those who held office after the War for Independence. The
following were Grand Lodge officers prior to the Revolution :

The Eight Worshipful J ohn Hammerton, of South Caro-
lina, Provincial Grand Master with jurisdiction over both
Carolinas by appointment of the Earl of Loudon, Grand
Master of England, in 1736.

The Eight Worshipful Thomas Cooper, of Pitt County,
North Carolina, who was appointed Deputy Provincial Grand
Master for North Carolina in 1767, by Acting Provincial
Grand Master Henry Price of the Grand Lodge in Boston.

The Eight Worshipful Joseph Montfort, of Halifax,
North Carolina, who was made Provincial Grand Master
"of and for America" by appointment of the Duke of Beau-
fort, Grand Master of England in 1771.

The Eight Worshipful James Milner, of Halifax, North
Carolina, Deputy Provincial Grand Master by appointment
of Provincial Grand Master Montfort in 1771.

The Eight Worshipful Cornelius Harnett, of New
Hanover County, North Carolina, Deputy Provincial Grand
Master by appointment of Provincial Grand Master Mont-
fort in 1773.

The Eight Worshipful William Brimage, Provincial
Grand Secretary by appointment of Provincial Grand Master
Montfort in 1771.

Milner died in 1772, or in the earlier part of January,
1773, and Harnett was appointed his successor. Montfort
died in 1776, and thereby the offices of his appointees, Har-

38

nett and Brimage, became null and void. In that way the
Colonial Grand Lodge passed out of existence in 177 6, about
the time that North Carolina was transformed from a Prov-
ince into an independent State.

All of the above Grand Lodge officers will presently be
given more particular notice. Before proceeding with this
narrative, however, it may be well to mention the fact that
in Colonial days no Provincial Grand Master in America,
however high his rank might be, had a right to the designa-
tion Most Worshipful, as was the case in independent
Grand Lodges after the Bevolution. Provincial Grand Mas-
ters, being only appointees, holding at the pleasure of Grand
Masters in England and elsewhere, were styled Right Wor-
shipful. The latter title, we may add, was used for some
time after the Revolution also, as the first Grand Master of
the independent Grand Lodge of North Carolina is so re-
corded in the proceedings when the reorganization was
effected.

THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL JOHN HAMMERTON.
Provincial Grand Matter of the Carolmai.

The North Carolina historian Frangois Xavier Martin, an
eminent member of the Masonic fraternity, was author of
one of the addresses in a work published under the auspices
of the joint Grand Lodge of North Carolina and Tennessee,
in 1805, entitled Ahiman Rezon and Masonic Ritual. In
this is the statement: "Masons crossed the Atlantic with the
first settlers of the British Colonies in America; and, soon
after, the Grand Masters of England appointed Provincial
Grand Masters and constituted regular Lodges in the New
World. The Carolinas, whose settlement is of a later date,
had no Provincial Grand Master until 5736, when the Earl
of Loudon appointed John Hammerton, Esq., to that dig-

39

nity. From him a regular succession can be traced to Joseph
Montfort, Esq., who was appointed by the Duke of Beaufort
towards the year 5769." It will here be noted that Brother
Martin says Provincial Grand Master Montf ort's commission

was issued "towards the year" — Anno Lucis — 5769. The
exact date was January 14th, in the year of our Lord 1771
(Anno Lucis 5771), as shown by the original instrument,
now owned by the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. A copy
of the Duke of Beaufort's charter has already been set forth
on a previous page.

Exactly in what relation Provincial Grand Master Ham-
merton stood toward Masonry in North Carolina I have not
been able to discover; but, assuming that so accurate a his-
torian as Brother Martin had some authority for the above
statement — made not more than thirty years after Hammer-
ton's death — a sketch of the latter is included herein, though
he was a citizen of Charleston, in South Carolina. Coupled
with his appointment as Provincial Grand Master of South
Carolina, he may have been vested with authority over un-
occupied territory in general outside of that Province. In
later years it became customary for Provincial Grand Masters
to have such additional jurisdiction conferred by their com-
missions, as was the case with Montf ort.

After his first appointment in 1736, Grand Master Ham-
merton remained in office not more than a year. He was
succeeded by James Graeme (later Chief Justice), who
served until December 27, 1740, when John Houghton was
elected to the post. Houghton discharged the duties of his
station till December 27, 1741, when Hammerton again be-
came Grand Master — this time by election of the Grand
Lodge of the Province of South Carolina — and served during

40

1741-1742, in which latter year (on Monday, December 28th)
Judge Benjamin Smith was elected.*

It is probable that when the Provincial Grand Lodge of
South Carolina elected Grand Masters as above, such action
did not nullify the chartered authority conferred by Lord
Loudon upon Hammerton; for I find it recorded in an old
work on Masonry, published considerably more than a hun-
dred years ago, that Provincial Grand Master Hammerton,
in 1739, was personally present in his official capacity at a
meeting of the Grand Lodge of England, held in London at
the Devil's Tavern, and presided over by Henry Brydges,
Marquis of Carnarvon, son and heir of the first Duke of
Chandos.

It should also be mentioned in connection with Hammer-
ton's personal Masonic history that, before receiving the
higher honor, he was Worshipful Master of Solomon Lodge
at Charleston, to which reference has already been made on a
previous page of this work.

Grand Master Hammerton was one of the foremost col-
onists of his day in South Carolina. In 1731 he was a mem-
ber of the Provincial Council under Governor Eobert John-
son; was Secretary of the Province for thirty years, from

* This Grand Master Benjamin Smith, of South Carolina, had a
brother Thomas Smith, who was father of Governor Benjamin Smith,
of North Carolina, Grand Master of the joint Grand Lodge of North
Carolina and Tennessee. The above Benjamin, Sr., and Thomas
Smith, of South Carolina, were the sons of Colonel Thomas Smith,
of that province, the maiden name of whose wife was also Smith.
This lady, Sabina Smith, was the daughter of Thomas Smith, second
Landgrave of his name in South Carolina. Governor and Grand
Master Benjamin Smith, of North Carolina, is interred in the burial
ground of St James Church, at Wilmington, where a slab was
erected to his memory, but was afterwards broken. His body was
not lost, as stated in the North Carolina Grand Lodge Proceedings
for 1899, pp. 52-53, though he was secretly buried. Governor Smith,
in his younger days, was aid-de-camp to General Washington during
the Revolution, and owned a Masonic apron once used by his great
chief. He was one of the earliest benefactors of the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

41

1732 to 1762, though residing in England and acting by
Deputies a good deal of this time ; in 1740, when Charleston
was nearly destroyed by fire, he was on committee which
distributed funds voted by the British Parliament to aid the
sufferers; he was Keceiver General of Quit-rents, 1732-1742,
and went as a Commissioner to Governor Oglethorpe, of
Georgia, shortly before 1740, to confer about South Carolina's
trade with that Province. His wife was Elizabeth Long,
daughter of a member of the British Parliament, Charles
Long, of Hurts Hall, in the county of Suffolk, and grand-
daughter of Sir Nicholas Lawes, Governor of the West Indian
Island of Jamaica. Mr. Long himself was also a resident of
Jamaica at one time.

To Hammerton belongs the distinction of having been one
of the earliest Provincial Grand Masters in America. He
was commissioned in 1736 by John Campbell, fourth Earl
of Loudon; and it was only six years prior thereto, 1730,
that Thomas Howard, eighth Duke of Norfolk, then Grand
Master of England, issued the first commission ever sent to
a Provincial Grand Master in America, whereby Daniel
Coxe, of New J ersey, was made Provincial Grand Master of
the Colonies of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

& A:

THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL THOMAS COOPER.
Deputy Grand Matter of the Province of North Carolina.

On December 30, 1767, a commission was issued to
Thomas Coopeb, of Pitt County, North Carolina, constitut-
ing and appointing him Provincial Deputy Grand Master of
North Carolina. This commission was issued by the Eight
Worshipful Henry Price, of Massachusetts, Acting Provin-
cial Grand Master of all such parts of North America as
were not already under the jurisdiction of some other Grand

42

Master. Brother Price was Past Grand Master as well as
Acting Grand Master, having himself (as far back as 1733)
received a commission from the Grand Master of England,
Anthony Browne, sixth Viscount Montague. When Cooper's

commission was issued by Price, however, the latter 'was
temporarily presiding over the Grand Lodge in Boston as
successor to the Right Worshipful Jeremy Gridley, Pro-
vincial Grand Master, who had recently died.

Deputy Provincial Grand Master Cooper was empowered
by his commission from Provincial Grand Master Price to
congregate all the brethren then residing, or who might there-
after reside, in North Carolina, into one or more Lodges, at
such place or places within the Province as should most
redound to the benefit of Masonry. Though the present
whereabouts of the original commission to Cooper is not
known (if, indeed, it be in existence), a copy of the same
has been preserved, as hereinbefore set forth.

As already stated on a previous page of the present work,
Brother Cooper was Worshipful Master of what was known
on the rolls of the Grand Lodge in Boston as "The First
Lodge in Pitt County" before he was made Deputy Provin-
cial Grand Master. Whether he ever chartered any subordi-
nate Lodges is not known. The Lodge of which he was
Master was chartered in 1766, or prior thereto, by the Right
Worshipful Jeremy Gridley, and was located at Crown Point,
a place in Pitt County. Crown Point was probably named
after the place where the Army Lodge was located in the
French and Indian War, as heretofore noted. A roll of the
membership of the Lodge in Pitt County in 17 67 has already
been given.

43

Brother Cooper was a merchant doing business in Pitt
County, and personally attended one or more meetings of the
Grand Lodge in Boston. It may be that he formerly resided
in that city. It may be, also, that he returned to New
England, for no record of his future career in North Carolina
can be found. The Pitt County Lodge paid dues to the
Grand Lodge in Boston up to the outbreak of the War of the
Eevolution, at a time when North Carolina had its own Pro-
vincial Grand Lodge ; hence the two Grand Bodies, it would
seem, had concurrent jurisdiction at that time.

It is greatly to be regretted that no more definite and
satisfactory information has been obtained concerning
Brother Cooper's personal history. Past Master Henry
Harding, of Greenville Lodge, No. 284, a well informed
member of the Craft now residing in Pitt County, writes:
"Thomas Cooper seems to have passed out with the old Lodge
of which he was Master. Of his antecedents we have been
unablfe to learn anything; and of his subsequent life and
acts he has left no record here."

THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL JOSEPH MONTFORT,
Provincial Grand Master of North America.

"Sir Simon de Montfort my subject shall be,
Once chief of all the great barons was he;
Yet fortune so cruel this lord did abase,
Now lost and forgotten are he and his race."

So runs the old English ballad which, in later verses, tells
how this great feudal lord was overthrown and slain at the
Battle of Evesham, and how his son (whose eyes were shot
out in the same fight) avoided the vengeance of enemies by
disguising himself as "a silly blind beggar of Bethnal Green"
— remaining in that lowly state for many years until his

44

daughter followed the usual custom of heroines by marrying
a magnanimous young knight who "weighed not true love
by the weight of the purse." Then to shield the bride from
scorn, the erstwhile beggar clad himself in a silk cloak with
velvet cap and feather, proclaimed his noble descent, heaped
gold without measure upon his daughter by way of a dower ;
and of course they all lived happily ever after. But —

"Ours are the days of fact, not fable,
Of knights, but not of the Round Table,"

and another Montfort (who claimed descent from the above
family) "my subject shall be" in the present sketch.

One of the most highly prized possessions of the Grand
Lodge of North Carolina is a large parchment commission, of
which a copy has already been set forth herein, bearing date

January 14th, in the year of
our Lord 1771 (Anno Lucis
5771), issued by Henry
Somerset, fifth Duke of
Beaufort, then Grand Mas-
ter of the Grand Lodge of England, to Joseph Montfort,
of Halifax, in the Province of North Carolina in America.
This commission is countersigned by Charles Dillon, Deputy
Grand Master, and J ames Heseltine, Grand Secretary. The

Grand Master styles himself by his various titles of nobility
as "Duke of Beaufort, Marquis & Earl of Worcester, Earl of
Glamorgan, Viscount Grosmont, Baron Herbert, Lord of
Ragland, Chepstow & Gower, Baron Beaufort of Caldecot
Castle, Grand Master of the most Ancient and Honorable
Society of Free and Accepted Masons." By this commission

45

Brother Montfort became "Provincial Grand Master of and
for America, with full power and Authority in due form to
make Masons & Constitute and Regulate Lodges, as Occasion
may Require."

In what Lodge Brother Montfort was made a Mason is not
known, though it may be safely assumed that it was some-
where in Great Britain, he being an Englishman. When the
charter for Royal White Hart Lodge from England was
received, empowering the brethren at Halifax to work, Mont-
fort became Worshipful Master, and proclaimed the charter
in open Lodge.

Grand Master Montfort was a citizen of the town of Hali-
fax, in Halifax County, North Carolina. He was born in
the year 1724. Though a native of England, his surname is
often confused (even by his own descendants) with that of a
family in the Province of Virginia having an orthography
somewhat similar. His ancestry in the mother country is
said to be of the same house as the old Earls of Leicester, one
of whom was the above mentioned Simon de Montfort, who
married a daughter of King John, later rebelled against
his brother-in-law, Henry the Third, and led in the establish-
ment of what in after years became the English House of
Commons.

Both socially and politically Grand Master Joseph Mont-
fort was a man of high standing in North Carolina. Prior
to the erection of the county of Halifax, in 1758 (theretofore
a part of Edgecombe County), Montfort was Clerk of the
Court for the county of Edgecombe. Upon the erection of
the county of Halifax, or shortly thereafter, a Court District
(formed of the counties of Granville, Northampton, Edge-
combe, and Halifax), the sessions of which once were held at
Enfield, had its place of sitting changed to the town of Hali-
fax. Montfort then became Clerk of this District Court.
By Chapter X. of the Private Laws of 1764 he was appointed
a member of the Board of Commissioners of the town of
Halifax. His associates on this Board were Alexander Mc-

«

46

Culloch,* Blake Baker, John Eelbeck, James Young, John
Thompson, and Robert Jones, Junior (otherwise known as
"Robin" Jones). In the years 1762, 1764, 1766, 1767, and
1773, Montfort's name is recorded as a member of the Colo-
nial Assembly of North Carolina. He was also Colonel of
Provincial troops.

Prior to the Revolution the Province had two Public
Treasurers — one for the northern counties and one for the
southern. By Chapter X. of the Public Laws of 1764 (first
session), Montfort was elected Treasurer of the Northern
Counties. His official district as Treasurer at first included
the counties of Currituck, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Chowan,
Bertie, Tyrrell, Northampton, Edgecombe, Granville,*
Orange, Hertford, Bute, and Halifax. By Chapter V. of the
Public Laws of 1773, the new county of Chatham was added
thereto. While Montfort was Treasurer of the northern
counties, the insurrection of the Regulators was in progress,
and Governor Tryon called on both Treasurers for the neces-
sary funds to fit out his military expedition against the in-
surgents. As there could be found no law authorizing such
disbursements, Montfort refused to comply with the Gover-
nor's requisition; and, as a consequence, very few troops
marched from the northern counties. Those detachments
which went from these counties were, for the most part, self-
equipped companies of volunteers. Tryon was more suc-
cessful with the Treasurer of the southern counties, Colonel
J ohn Ashe, who did everything he could to aid the government
not only in an official way, but even pledged his personal

* Alexander McCulloch married Sarah Hill, a sister of Grand
Master Montfort's wife. Both he and Henry Eustace McCulloh
were members of the Governor's Council. Though they spelled their
names differently there was a blood relationship between them.
McCulloch has numerous descendants in North Carolina and else-
where in America. McCulloh went back to England, where he died
without lawful issue, being a bachelor. (See Life and Correspond-
ence of James Iredell, by G. J. McRee, Vol. I., pp. 7-9, 341.)

47

credit to forward the enterprise, and afterwards fought under
the Governor's banner at the Battle of Alamance.

By Chapter V. of the Public Laws of 1771, Colonel Mont-
fort was elected on a committee to manage the affairs of
North Carolina in England through the agency of Henry
Eustace McCulloh. Serving on this committee with Montf ort
were Lewis Henry DeRosset, Marmaduke Jones, Richard
Caswell, John Harvey, J ames Moore, Robert Howe, Maurice
Moore, and Cornelius Harnett.

The two autographs of Montfort which accompany this
sketch are from papers signed by him in the same year,
though the signatures differ somewhat in form.

In the beginning of the troubles between America and
Great Britain, Grand Master Montfort at once took sides
with the Colonies, and was elected to represent the borough of
Halifax in the independent Provincial Congress which met
at New Bern on the 3d of April, 1775. It is doubtful, how-
ever, whether he was physically able to be present at the sit-
tings of that body which remained in session only four days
and then adjourned.

For several years prior to the Revolution, Colonel Mont-
fort had been seriously troubled with a malady which might
now be diagnosed as appendicitis. His affection is described
in a letter written on the 22d of February, 1774, by Andrew
Miller, a merchant of Halifax, to Thomas Burke, afterwards
Governor of the State. Miller said: "The Colonel has still
a swelling of the intestines. Some of the doctors say it is
temporary, others that it is an ulcer in the intestines. Be it
as it will, I am afraid he is not long for this world. "

Grand Master Montfort died on the 25th of March, 1776,
while the war was still in its early stages. His wife died
October 8, 1780. Had Montfort lived longer, there is little
doubt that he would have been a potent factor in advancing
the patriotic cause.

The wife of Grand Master Montfort (whom he married
on the 15th of November, 1753) was Priscilla Hill, one of

48

the reigning belles of her day. She was a daughter of Colonel
Benjamin Hill, who came to Bertie County, North Carolina,
from Nansemond County, Virginia. Montfort had three
children who grew to maturity. His only son, Henry Mont-
fort, was early a member of the reorganized Grand Lodge of
North Carolina after the Eevolution, and married Sarah
Edwards, sister of Governor Tryon's private secretary, Col-
onel Isaac Edwards, but left no surviving issue at the time
of his death, which occurred in Philadelphia. The other
children of Grand Master Montfort (besides one or more who
died young) were two daughters: Mary, who married the
great Eevolutionary statesman, Willie Jones ; and Elizabeth,
who married Colonel John Baptista Ashe, another Eevolu-
tionary patriot, who was Governor-elect of North Carolina
at the time of his death after the war. These ladies were
among the most accomplished women of their time. Mrs.
Ashe it was who heard Colonel Banastre Tarleton vauntingly
express a desire to meet Colonel William Washington, and
answered that this pleasure could have been experienced had
Colonel Tarleton looked behind him at the Battle of Cowpens.
On another occasion Tarleton told Mrs. Jones that he under-
stood Washington was so illiterate he could scarcely write his
name. "He can at least make his mark," replied that lady,
pointing to Tarleton's hand, which still bore evidence of
Washington's sabre-cut. These incidents have often been
related, but are good enough to bear repetition. Mrs. Jones
lived to extreme old age, and was residing at Halifax when
Lafayette visited that town in 1825. When the courtly
Marquis heard that this lady was too feeble to attend the
reception which the town gave in his honor, he went in person
to pay his respects to her. The Raleigh Register, of March
11, 1825, in quoting from a Halifax paper concerning the
incident, says: "The meeting of the General and this ven-
erable lady was truly affecting. There was not a dry eye in
the room. The aged frame of Mrs. Jones was convulsed with
feeling, and the General sank into a chair, overpowered with

49

various and conflicting emotions." Through both Mrs. Jones
and Mrs. Ashe Grand Master Montf ort has many descendants
now living. There are other members of the Montf ort family
connection who are not his lineal descendants. His sister,
Sallie Montf ort, married David Stokes, and from her de-
scended the noted Stokes family of North Carolina. One
of her sons was Governor Montfort Stokes, prominent as an
officer of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina after the Eevo-
lution — Junior Grand Warden, December 3, 1796-December
16, 1798; Senior Grand Warden, December 16, 1798-De-
cember 12, 1802 ; and Deputy Grand Master, December 12,
1802-November 28, 1807.

The Montfort family also had other connections in North
Carolina.

So ends the story of Grand Master Montfort. Brief as it
is, a few more years might make an attempt to portray his
life even more difficult.

In speaking of the laudable work rendered by Old Mor-
tality to the memory of the Covenanters, Sir Walter Scott
says that he was "probably a mason by profession — at least,
educated to the use of the chisel." Unlike Old Mortality,
and unlike our ancient brethren "who wrought in Masonry
both operative and speculative," the writer of the present
sketch is a Mason who has not been educated to the use of the
chisel. Hence he must perforce substitute the pen as a means
of transmitting to his brethren this little memorial of that
distinguished ruler of the Craft whose life is herein imper-
fectly recorded.

THE RIGHT WORSHIPPUL JAMES MILNER,
Deputy Provincial Grand Master of North America.

During the earlier part of the time that Colonel Joseph
Montfort was "Provincial Grand Master of and for America,"
4

50

James Milner was his Deputy Grand Master. These gen-
tlemen resided in the same town — Halifax, in Halifax
County, North Carolina — and were close personal friends.
It is probable that Deputy Grand Master Milner's commis-
sion was issued by Montf ort, and not by the Grand Lodge of

January, 1773, and could not have been commissioned prior
to 1771, in which year the Duke of Beaufort made Montfort
Provincial Grand Master of America.

Brother Milner was an eminent member of the legal pro-
fession. Owing to his great ability as a lawyer, his services
were often in demand outside of his home county. At the
courts held for the District of Hillsborough he often appeared,
and there shared the cream of the practice with such able
members of the Bar as John Williams, John Kinchen, and
Thomas McGuire, as we learn from a work on Colonial and
Eevolutionary times in Hillsborough, by Francis "Nash. In
addition to his professional acquirements, he was a man of
fijie literary taste, who owned one of the best libraries in the
Colony — many works in Hebrew and Greek being included
therein, as well as those on general subjects and law. His
Hebrew and Greek works were bequeathed in his will to the
Reverend William Willie, and the remainder of his library
to other friends. Even at the present time, some ancient
survivors of this literary collection are occasionally found,
bearing book-plates with the Milner coat-of-arms engraved
thereon.

Milner probably died unmarried, as he makes no reference
in his will to either wife or children. He was possessed of a
landed estate in Scotland ("North Britain," as he terms that
country), and this, with five hundred pounds sterling, he
bequeathed to his brother Arthur. He left Colonel Montfort
four guineas with which to buy a "mouring ring," and to

England. If this be true, Mil-
ner's service was limited to the
years 1771-1772, as he died in
1772, or in the earlier part of

51

the latter's two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth Montfort, he
bequeathed one hundred pounds sterling each. As to money
due him for professional services, Brother Milner's will
breathes a true Masonic spirit. In it he says: "I will that
no persons for whom I have done business in the law way,
shall be called upon to pay money that is or may be due to me
on that account, provided they be so poor as thereby to be put
to difficulties in maintaining themselves and families."

Arthur Milner, brother of the above, later came in person
to Halifax for the purpose of looking after his inherited in-
terests, but it is probable that he did not remain permanently.

The successor of James Milner, as Deputy Grand Master,
was one of the greatest patriots of Colonial and Revolutionary
times, Cornelius Harnett, of the county of New Hanover, to
whose life we shall direct attention in the next sketch.

THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL COWMELIUS HARNETT,
Deputy Provincial Grand Master of North America.

Shortly after the death of James Milner, of Halifax,
North Carolina, which occurred about the end of the year
1772, Cornelius Harnett, of New Hanover County, suc-
ceeded him as Deputy Provincial Grand Master under the

Eight Worshipful Joseph Montfort, of Halifax, who was
Provincial Grand Master having jurisdiction (concurrent
with other Provincial Grand Masters) over the entire Conti-

52

nent of North America. It has often been stated that Har-
nett was Provincial Grand Master of Virginia and lived in
Norfolk. This is an error. His father, also named Cornelius
Harnett, was a merchant originally from Dublin, and he may
have once lived in Norfolk ; but it was the younger Harnett
who was Deputy Grand Master. The elder Harnett was
also a noted Colonist, being member of the Governor's Coun-
cil, High SherifF, etc. He died about 1742.

Cornelius Harnett, our present subject, was born in the
precinct (now county) of Chowan, on April 20, 1723. He
was a life-long citizen of North Carolina.

Having jurisdiction (though not exclusive jurisdiction) of
the whole Continent, Grand Master Montfort, and his Deputy,
Brother Harnett, chartered some subordinate Lodges in Vir-
ginia, and this probably gave rise to the supposition that
Harnett was Provincial Grand Master of Virginia. Positive
evidence to show that Lodges in Virginia were established
by the above authority lies in the fact that the Grand Lodge
of that State now owns an original charter (dated April 13,
1775) signed by Joseph Montfort, of Halifax, North Caro-
lina, Grand Master of North America, acting under the
authority of His Grace the Duke of Beaufort, Grand Master
of England, establishing a Boyal Arch Chapter at Cabin
Point, Virginia. This Virginia charter from Montfort, act*
ing as Grand Master of America, is countersigned by Cor-
nelius Harnett, his Deputy Provincial Grand Master.
So this proves beyond all question that instead of being Pro-
vincial Grand Master of Virginia, Brother Harnett wa&
Deputy Provincial Grand Master of North America — Vir-
ginia being a part of that jurisdiction. Of the general powers
of Provincial Grand Masters who resided in the American
Colonies and received their authority from England, Brother
John Dove's work on Virginia Freemasonry says: "They,
being themselves only appointees, had no power to perpetuate
their appointments; and, consequently, at their death, or
demise for any cause, all offices, and so-called Grand or Sub-

53

ordinate Bodies appointed and organized by them were and
continued fundi officio/' Owing to the reasons set forth in
the passage just quoted, Harnett's powers were regarded as
having ceased when Montfort died in 1776, for in the Vir-
ginia proceedings, on October 13, 1778, we find this record:
"It is the opinion of this Convention that the power and
authority of Cornelius Harnett, Esq., as Deputy Grand Mas-
ter of America, does not now exist." It will be observed that
this official resolution calls Harnett by his proper title —
Deputy Grand Master of America, not Provincial Grand
Master of Virginia,

The public life of Brother Harnett forms a bright chapter
of North Carolina history. He was brought in infancy from
his birth-place in Chowan County to the vicinity of Wil-
mington when his father removed to the Cape Fear section.
In 1760,. when Wilmington was given legislative representa-
tion by being raised from the rank of an ordinary town to
the dignity of a Borough, the younger Harnett is recorded as
one of the town council. He had held that place since 1750.
In later life he was an active and uncompromising advocate
of popular sovereignty. During the Stamp Act troubles of
Governor William Tryon's administration, he was one of
those who boldly confronted the representatives of royalty
and defied the power of Great Britain. Time and again he
was a member of the Assembly of the Province prior to the
Eevolution as well as during that conflict

Harnett's country-seat was called Maynard during his life-
time ; but, after his death, upon its passing into the possession
of the Hill family, the name was changed to Hillton or
Hilton.

In the spring of 1773, Josiah Quincy, Junior, of Massa-
chusetts, was a guest at Harnett's home, and in his diary
refers to him as "the Samuel Adams of North Carolina."
In speaking of the sentiments predominant at that time

54

among Harnett and his associates, Quincy says: "The plan
of continental correspondence is highly relished, much wished
for, and resolved upon as proper to be pursued."

Harnett had no sympathy with the insurrection of the
Regulators, as his record in the Colonial Assembly shows.
To speak in detail of his brilliant career as a Revolutionary
statesman would be almost equivalent to writing a political
history of the war in North Carolina. Only a bare sum-
mary of his services can be here given. On November 23,
1774, he became a member of the Committee of Safety for
the .Wilmington District, and was elected chairman of the
same on January 5, 1775. In that capacity he received a
hurried express on May 8th, telling of the Battle of Lexing-
ton. "For God's sake send the man on without the least de-
lay and write Mr. Marion to forward it by night and day"
was the message by which he passed it down through other
Committees of Safety to Isaac Marion on the South Carolina
border. He was elected chairman of the Provincial Council
of the entire Colony on October 18, 1775, and as such was
de facto Governor, though not vested with that title. He
represented the borough of Wilmington in the Provincial
Congresses of North Carolina at New Bern,. in April, 1775;
at Hillsborough, in August, 1775 ; and at Halifax, in April,
1776. He also was in the Provincial Congress at Halifax,
in November, 1776, as representative of Brunswick County.
While a member of the first named Congress at Halifax he
was chairman of the committee which drew up the resolution
authorizing North Carolina's delegates in the Continental
Congress to join the representatives of other Colonies in de-
claring independence of Great Britain. This was passed on
April 12, 1776, some weeks prior to the famous resolutions of
similar purport which were adopted in Virginia. He was a
member of the committee which drew up the State Constitu-
tion and Bill of Eights adopted by the Congress at Halifax,
in the fall of 1776. He was present in Halifax, as President
of the Provincial Council, when news of the National Declar-

55

ation of Independence reached that town, and it became his
duty to proclaim it to the people. Describing that memorable
scene, Jo. Seawell Jones, in his Defence of North Carolina,
says: "At mid-day Cornelius Harnett ascended a rostrum
which had been erected in front of the Court House, and, even
as he opened the scroll upon which were written the immor-
tal words of the Declaration, the enthusiasm of the immense
crowd broke forth in one loud swell of rejoicing and prayer.
The reader proceeded to his task and read the Declaration
to the mute and impassioned multitude with the solemnity
of an appeal to heaven. When he had finished, all the people
shouted with joy, and the cannon, sounding from fort to fort,
proclaimed the glorious tidings that all the Thirteen Colonies
were now free and independent States. The soldiers seized
Mr. Harnett and bore him on their shoulders through the
streets of the town, applauding him as their champion and
swearing allegiance to the instrument he had read." On
December 18, 1776, Harnett was elected a member of the
Governor's Council.

When Sir Henry Clinton came with his armament into
the Cape Fear River, in May, 1776, he attempted to bring
back the inhabitants of North Carolina to their allegiance to
King George by a general proclamation of amnesty, "except-
ing only from the benefit of such pardon Cornelius Harnett
and Robert Howe." Thus was treason made odious, and the
names of Harnett and Howe given to the keeping of Tame
for future generations to venerate.

From 1777 to 1780 Harnett represented North Carolina
in several sessions of the Continental Congress. While a
member of that august body he signed the Articles of Confed-
eration between the States, and performed other important
duties.

After the Battle of Guilford Court House, which occurred
on the 15 th of March, 1781, the British forces retreated to
Wilmington. That town was already in the possession of one
of the most trusted lieutenants of Cornwallis, Major Craig,

56

later known to fame as Sir James Henry Craig, Governor
General of Canada. While at Wilmington, Major Craig
made every effort to capture Harnett. The latter fled and
sought refuge in Onslow County at the hospitable home of
Colonel John Spicer, a gentleman closely identified with the
American cause. Here he was taken ill, and a detachment
of British cavalry, learning of his whereabouts, succeeded
in effecting his capture. Strapped to a horse 'like a sack of
meal," the half-dead prisoner was carried back to Wilming-
ton, and there placed in close confinement, but later paroled.
He died soon after at the age of fifty-eight His monument,
in the burial-ground of Saint James's Church at Wilmington,
states that he died on the 20th of April, 1781 ; yet his will,
in his own handwriting, is dated April 28 th, in the same
year — eight days later.

Though a married man, Harnett died without lawful issue.
On his grave-stone is an epitaph, said to have been selected
by himself, which reads :

"Slave to no sect, he took no private road,
But looked through Nature up to Nature's God."

This is from a passage in Pope's Essay on Man, which,
when quoted verbatim, runs as follows:

"Slave to no sect, who takes no private road,
But looks through Nature up to Nature's God."

Some writers have claimed that Harnett was a Deist, and
others go so far as to call him an Atheist It is needless to
tell a Mason that the latter statement, at least, is not true
concerning him. From time immemorial it has been held
that no unbeliever is a fit person to be initiated into the
mysteries of the Order. It was so in the Dark Ages ; in 1722
it was reiterated in the Charges of a Freemason, and it is still
a law of the Order. Whether a slave to no sect, a slave to all
sects, a Christian, Unitarian, Jew, or Mohammedan, would
not be called into question, provided Harnett believed in God
— Nature's God, the God of all things in heaven above, in the

57

earth beneath, and the water under the earth — but, whatever
may have been his personal views in a doctrinal way on the
subject of religion, belief in God he surely professed when
he became a Mason,

Aside from a question of Harnett's obligation as a Mason,
we have abundant evidence to show most emphatically that
he was no Atheist. He was a member of Saint James's
Church at Wilmington, and owned pew No. 18 in that house
of worship, as indicated by an old diagram of the same. He
was one of those to whose efforts the erection of that church
was due, as is shown by the fact that his name heads a sub-
scription list gotten up for building purposes in 1753 — his
personal contribution being thirteen pounds and six shillings,
or upwards of sixty-five dollars. For some years he served
the parish of Saint James as a member of the vestry, and
was a regular attendant on the meetings of that body. In
1771 he was one of those who petitioned Governor Josiah
Martin that the pastoral services of the Reverend James
Macartney should be engaged for the benefit of the Province.
After 1776 he often held public office under the old State
Constitution (an instrument he aided in drafting) which
provided in its twenty-second section that eligibility to office
should be vested in no person who denied the being of God,
the truth of the Protestant religion, the divine authority of
either the Old or New Testament, or should hold religious
principles incompatible with the freedom and safety of the
State. In the will of Harnett, written with his own hand,
he reverently emphasizes the name of the Deity with an
adjective not usually employed in such instruments — "In the
sacred name of God, Amen."

Such is the evidence bearing on the case of Cornelius Har-
nett charged with Atheism. If the facts above quoted prove
the charge, there are very few real believers in our day, for
it is not every man who can show such a record for religious
activity.

58

Many years ago a sketch of Harnett was written by Archi-
bald Maclaine Hooper, who may have remembered him per-
sonally. In this sketch Mr. Hooper says: "His stature was
about five feet, nine inches. In his person he was rather
slender than stout. His hair was of a light brown and his
eyes hazel. The contour of his face was not striking, nor
were his features, which were small, remarkable for sym-
metry; but his countenance was pleasing; and his figure,
though not commanding, was neither inelegant nor ungrace-
ful."

The General Assembly of North Carolina has come to the
aid of history in perpetuating the name of Cornelius Harnett,
and emblazoned it on the map of the State to designate a
county whose territory covers nearly six hundred square
miles. With such a memorial the perpetuity of his fame is
now assured.

On April 20, 1906, an interesting ceremony took place in
the city of Wilmington when the Grand Lodge of Masons, by
invitation of the North Carolina Society of the Colonial
Dames of America, laid the corner-stone of a monument
which that organization of patriotic ladies has undertaken to
erect to Harnett's memory. Eloquent and instructive ad-
dresses were delivered on this occasion by Grand Master
Francis D. Winston, and the Honorable Alfred Moore Wad-
dell, Mayor of Wilmington, a member of Saint John's Lodge,
No. 1. The site of this monument (at the intersection of
Fourth and Market Streets) adjoins the burial-ground of
Saint James's Church, and is only a few steps from the grave
where Harnett's remains are interred. In generations to
come this monument will proclaim the self-sacrificing devo-
tion of a courageous Carolinian whose labors in behalf of his
oppressed country ended only with the close of life, and
the result of whose efforts survive to bless those of us whose
lot has been cast in happier and more peaceful days.

59

THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL WILLIAM BR1MAGE,
Provincial Grand Secretary of North America.

No war has ever harrassed an English-speaking country
without working injury to Masonry. Members of the Craft,
being always taught to follow their own convictions, are
arrayed, to a greater or less extent, in the causes of contending
factions, and the harmony of the Order is interrupted thereby.
The War of the Revolution was no exception to this rule.
While Washington, Lafayette, Franklin, Hancock, and other
great leaders of the American cause, including Harnett,
Davie, Caswell, Johnston, Polk, and their compatriots in
North Carolina, were exerting every effort for independence,
others remained loyal to the King. To this latter class — the

Loyalists — belonged the Eight
Worshipful William Bbimage,
of North Carolina, who was ap-
pointed Grand Secretary of and
for America by Provincial
Grand Master Joseph Montfort
shortly after the latter received his commission from the Duke
of Beaufort, Grand Master of England, in 1771. Brother
Brimage discharged the duties of his office until the death of
Grand Master Montfort in 1776, when all of Montfort's ap-
pointments became null and void in consequence of his
decease. Then the Grand Lodge in the Province passed out
of existence for a time, and it was not until eleven years later
that it was reorganized. As has already been shown, Mont-
fort's jurisdiction extended beyond the confines of the Prov-
ince of North Carolina. There are charters now extant in
Virginia, and probably elsewhere, bearing his signature and
that of Brother Brimage, the Grand Secretary.

For many of the particulars concerning the life of Grand
Secretary Brimage I am indebted to the courtesy of one of

60

his descendants, who has kindly furnished me with a family
record, written in part by Mr. Brimage himself.

William Brimage, only son of a gentleman of the same
name, was born at Blackwell, near Darlington, in the county
of Durham, England. He was united in marriage, on May
3, 1765, with his first wife, Frances Anne Gilbert, of Han-
over Square, London; and a few weeks later, on May 25th,
set sail for America, landing at Annapolis, Maryland, on the
4th of August following. He removed to Halifax, North
Carolina, in April, 1766, and in December of the same year
his wife died, after the loss of her only child, an infant son.
Mrs. Brimage is interred in the Colonial burial-ground at
Halifax. The inscription on her monument tells us, in the
language of old Eome: "Hie jacet corpus Frances Anne
Brimage, uxor Gulielmi Brimage, haec Coloniae, Arm. Obiit
21st Deer., Anno Bom. 1766. Aetatis suae 29." — (Here lies
the body of Frances Anne Brimage, wife of William Brim-
age, of this Colony, Esq. She died 21st of December, in the
year of our Lord 1766. Her age 29.) To the above Latin
inscription on the monument of Mrs. Brimage is the addition
in English: "A sincere friend, a tender, affectionate, and
good wife."

In June, 1767, Mr. Brimage returned to England, and
there remained till July, 1768, when he again set sail for
America, arriving at his old home in Halifax during the
following October. In August, 1769, he removed to New
Bern, the new capital of the Province and the home of His
Excellency William Tryon, Boyal Governor. In 1770 Mr.
Brimage was made Judge of the Court of Vice Admiralty
for the Port of Roanoke at Edenton, and exercised the func-
tions of that office for some time. I have seen an original
decree of this Court, signed by Judge Brimage, and attested
by his private seal. The latter bears the armorial device of
his family, which the wax is not sufficiently preserved to'
show in full, though the cr^st appears to be a human arm.

61

On May 25, 1773, Judge Brimage was again married (the
Eeverend James Keed officiating) to Elizabeth West, daugh-
ter and only surviving child of Thomas West — then deceased
— and grand-daughter of Colonel Eobert West, of the county
of Bertie. In the September following this second marriage,
he removed with his wife to her estate of Westbrooke (after-
wards called Brimage's Neck) on Cashie Kiver in Bertie
County. At this place he remained in the full enjoyment
of domestic tranquility until the outbreak of the war which
was destined to blast his happiness by scattering his house-
hold and driving him an exile from America.

At the beginning of the Eevolution, when the Whigs were
seeking leaders to pilot them through their great struggle for
independence, the people of Bertie County sought the ser-
vices of Judge Brimage and elected him a member of the
independent Provincial Congress at Hillsborough in August,
1775. But the journals of this body do not show that Brim-
age was present. He probably refused to serve. His loyalty
to the King of his native land was too strong to be turned
aside either by the oppressions of the Parliament of Great
Britain or American notions of liberty, and he soon became
identified with the much despised Tory faction of North
Carolina. In 1777 he became involved in a plot to overturn
the Whig government. This conspiracy was said to extend
from Virginia to Georgia. That some of its leaders were
bloodthirsty and unscrupulous partisans, or threatened much
more than they ever intended to do, there is little doubt;
but the fact that Brimage was released after being captured,
while several of the others were sentenced to death for
participation in the plot, shows that the former did not antici-
pate going beyond the rules of lawful warfare. He did, how-
ever, bear a part in extending the organization of a secret
society of Loyalists of eastern North Carolina, and of this he
was elected one of the "Senior Wardens." There seems to
have been quite a number of officers with this title — one for
each county. According to the testimony of a witness who
turned State's evidence, one of the ways of recognizing a

62

member of this Tory fraternity was about as follows : A man
would rub his face or coat with his right hand, the fore-
finger pointing upward. Then a person meeting him (if a
member) might ask: "To what do you point?" After this
came the reply: "I point to a secret; have you the secret?"
Then the interrogator said: "Give me your secret." Now
would be answered: "I did not get it so." The first would
thereupon ask : "How can I get it ?" Then each would chal-
lenge the other to "letter and half it," after which the words
"Be true" would be spelt out, each man alternately supply-
ing a letter, at the conclusion of which one would exclaim:
"I hope you will !" In another degree of the same Order, the
word "Night" would be spelt in like manner, to show that
the Loyalists would rise up in the night and slay the King's
enemies. In whose ingenious brain the intricacies of recog-
nition in this society originated does not appear. It was
already organized before Brimage became a member.

One of the plans of the above secret society was to rise up
and capture the powder magazine at Tarborough. About
thirty gathered near that town in July, 1777, for the pur-
pose of making a descent. At that place was stationed, on
recruiting duty, Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Irwin (after-
wards killed at the Battle of Germantown), who gathered
together about twenty-five recruits to protect the town and
arsenal. The attacking party was unsuccessful, and Irwin
captured and disarmed many of them, while others succeeded
in escaping. It does not appear that Brimage took part in
the above skirmish — if, indeed, he was in that part of the
State — but he was considered one of the ring-leaders of the
faction, and at once sought safety in flight. Governor Cas-
well thereupon issued orders to Major David Barron at New
Bern to apprehend him should he attempt to escape in that
direction. Under date of July 28th, Barron replied to the
Governor as follows: "I have despatched Lieutenant Shad-
rach Fulcher with a party of men after Brimage, with orders
not to return without him, provided he has not left the State ;

63

if so, to make strict inquiry in what vessel he took his passage.
* * * I mentioned Mr. Brimage's situation to Telfair.
He assured me he should not have a passage in the brig by
any means whatever except a passport from you." By read-
ing the passage just quoted, Master Masons will be reminded
of three Fellow Crafts who fled to Joppa — and then will
realize that history sometimes repeats itself. Not having
Governor Caswell's passport, Brimage was arrested while
trying to gain passage by sea into Virginia. He later escaped,
however, and went to Boanoke Island, where he was arrested
by John Mann and placed in jail at Edenton. One of his
old neighbors, Brigadier-General Allen Jones, joyfully im-
parted the news to Thomas Burke, saying: "The great Mr.
Brimage is in Edenton jail, being one of the heads of these
cut-throats." By way of a happy solution of the matter,
General Jones adds : "I make no doubt but hanging about a
dozen will have an exceedingly good effect in this State, and
give stability to our new government They seem to have
been designed for this purpose by Providence." The senti-
ments just quoted differ somewhat from those of Sir Henry
Wotton, who once said that hanging was the worst use a man
could be put to.

Brimage did not long remain in the "poisonous and
noisome dungeon," as he called his place of confinement at
Edenton. Possibly when brought to trial it developed that
though he might be a faithful adherent of the King, he could
not be proved a "cut-throat," and so his liberty was restored.
At any rate, on the 10th of October, 1777, he is found at
Westbrooke, his home in Bertie County, whence he wrote
Governor Caswell, complaining that personal belongings were
taken from him when he was captured and had not been
returned.

Brother Brimage probably left North Carolina shortly
after his release from prison. He no doubt began to realize
that the State was not a healthy abode for adherents of King
George. Prior to the time of his release many Loyalists had

64

been given the alternative of taking the oath of allegiance to
the new State government or seeking homes elsewhere. Brim-
age was not the only prominent member of the Masonic
fraternity who left the State under these circumstances.
Chief Justice Martin Howard, Past Master of Saint John's
Lodge at New Bern, took his departure with quite a number
of Loyalists in July, 1777, first going to New York and then
to England.

Among the letters addressed to Governor Caswell while the
war was in progress we find one from Thomas Clarke, of
Bertie County, stating that the County Court there had
ordered himself, Thomas Bog, and Kichard Jones, to leave
the State; and, as soon as passports could be obtained from
the Governor, they would take shipping on a vessel called the
Free Mason, of which Bog was to have command. The name
of this vessel, we may add, was not the only visible impress
of Masonry to be found in North Carolina during the Kevo-
lution, as the brethren of that day even put their mark on
the State's money. In describing one of the bills of credit
issued by the authority of the State Congress at Hillsborough,
Jo. Seawell Jones, in his Defence of North Carolina, says:
"It is adorned in the margin with a Masonic emblem, and
signed by Kichard Caswell, Samuel Johnston, Andrew Knox,
and Kichard Cogdell." Both Caswell and Johnston were
Grand Masters of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina after
the Revolution, while Cogdell (and possibly Knox) was also
a member of the craft.

After leaving North Carolina, Brother Brimage went to
the Island of Bermuda. On December 20, 1780, three of his
children — Thomas, Elizabeth, and Mary — sailed on the sloop
Eliza to Bermuda to join their father, and reached there in
the month following, January, 1781.

In 1783 Brother Brimage was living in England; but his
wife had, in the meantime, made several trips to America.
In 1781 she landed in Virginia under a flag of truce, and
in the following year returned to Bermuda, at which place

i

65

she became the* mother of another child. Mrs. Brimage
finally returned to North Carolina to resume her residence,
accompanied by her smaller children, but leaving Thomas,
the eldest son, with his father in England.

On the 16th of March, 1793, the Eight Worshipful
William Brimage, subject of this sketch, died. His son
Thomas remained in England until he reached the age
of twenty-one, and then came to America to join his mother
and family in Bertie County. He died unmarried two years
after his arrival. By the death of this young man, the de-
scendants, in the male line, of Grand Secretary Brimage be-
came extinct. Through his daughters, however, he left de-
scendants who have taken a high stand in their respective
communities. Mrs. Elizabeth West Brimage, wife of Wil-
liam Brimage, died in Bertie County on the 20th of April,
1816. Following is a list of the children of William and
Elizabeth Brimage:

1. William Henry Brimage, born March 28, 1774, and
died an infant J uly 8th, in the same year.

2. Thomas West Brimage, born July 15, 1775, and died
unmarried in North Carolina on the 8th of April, 1799.

3. Elizabeth Pollock Brimage, born October 21, 1777, and
died November 23, 1820. She married Humphrey Bate,
and had two sons, Thomas (who died unmarried) and Joseph.
The latter was father of the Honorable William Brimage
Bate, who fought through the war with Mexico and the war
between the States (becoming a Major-General in the Con-
federate Army), and was later Governor of Tennessee and
United States Senator.

4. Mary Frances Brimage (twin sister of Elizabeth),
born October 21, 1777, and died October 3, 1851. On
September 10, 1795, she married Ephraim Miller, and left
descendants. Mr. Miller died September 14, 1826.

5. Harriet Brimage, who was born on the Island of Ber-
muda, April 12, 1782, and married Benjamin Fessenden.

5

66

The above sketch includes what information I have been
able to gather concerning the eventful career of the Eight
Worshipful William Brimage, sometime Grand Secretary of
the Provincial Grand Lodge of Freemasons in the American
Colonies.*

In the Charges of a Freemason, published in 1722, the
principle is laid down for the government of the Craft that
a Mason is "never to be concerned in plots and conspiracies
against the peace and welfare of the nation." In the eyes
of Brother Brimage, we do not doubt, Great Britain was
"the nation," and he probably considered Cornelius Harnett
and that gentleman's associates the plotters and conspirators
against its peace and welfare. To Brother Harnett — particu-
larly as he was a native of the Province — North Carolina
was "the nation," and Brimage, with the other Loyalists of
the State, were the plotters and conspirators. Hence we may
hope that, both as men and Masons, Brimage and Harnett
alike found justification in their own hearts. And so to each
of our ancient friends and Bight Worshipful Brethren we
now bid adieu with the solemn words of the burial service of
our Order: "Let charity incline us to throw a veil over his
foibles, whatever they may have been, and not withhold from
his memory the praise that his virtues may have claimed.
Suffer the apologies of human nature to plead in his behalf.
Perfection on earth has never been attained. The wisest, as
well as the best of men, have erred."

67

CONCLUSION.

This brief narrative, by which I have attempted to trace
out the beginnings of Freemasonry in North Carolina and
Tennessee, has now come to an end. Certain it is that these
States and the Nation in general have profited by the standard
of citizenship which the Order has set

Much may be known of some of the historic names I have
herein mentioned — the great ones of the world, including
Peers of the Kealm in England, together with Governors,
Generals, Jurists and the like in America — but immeasurably
the best work of Masonry has for the most part been quietly
done by less famous members of the fraternity whose labors
are forgotten on earth when they go down to the grave. Yet
this latter class, who have visited the fatherless and widows
in their affliction and kept themselves unspotted from the
world, will little grieve that their deeds have perished from
the memory of man, when they are greeted in the Grand
Lodge above with the welcome words : "Inasmuch as ye have
done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have
done it unto me."

And now for the future it can only be said that while mem-
bers of the Craft hold to the principles transmitted to them
by the Masons of ancient times, our Mother Grand Lodge
will ever find favor with God and honor among men. So
mote it be, now, from henceforth, and forevermore!

"In spite of rock, and tempest's roar,
In spite of false lights on the shore,
Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea!
Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee,
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears,
Are all with thee — are all with thee."

GRAND OFFICERS."

LIST OF SIX PRINCIPAL OFFICERS CHOSEN AT EACH SUCCES-
SIVE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE GRAND LODGE OF NORTH
" CAROLINA FROM ITS REORGANIZATION IN 1787 TILL?
1906, WITH DATES OF SERVICE.

DECEMBER 11, 1787— NOVEMBER 18, 1788.

Samuel Johnston, Grand Master; Richard Caswell, Deputy Grand
Master ; Richard Ellis, Senior Grand Warden ; Michael Payne, Junior
Grand Warden; Abner Neale, Grand Treasurer; James Glasgow,
Grand Secretary.

NOVEMBER 18, 1788— NOVEMBER 21, 1789.

Richard Caswell, Grand Master f ; Michael Payne, Deputy Grand
Master; James Glasgow, Senior Grand Warden; Silas White Arnett,
Junior Grand Warden; Stephen Cabarrus, Grand Treasurer; Wil-
liam Johnston Dawson, Grand Secretary.

NOVEMBER 21, 1789— NOVEMBER 17, 1790.

Samuel Johnston, Grand Master; James Glasgow, Deputy Grand
Master; Silas White Arnett, Senior Grand Warden; Lunsford Long,
Junior Grand Warden ; Stephen Cabarrus, Grand Treasurer ; William
Johnston Dawson, Grand Secretary.

NOVEMBER 17, 1790— DECEMBER 22, 1791.

Samuel Johnston, Grand Master; James Glasgow, Deputy Grand
Master; Stephen Cabarrus, Senior Grand Warden; Isaac Guion,
Junior Grand Warden; Frederick Hargett, Grand Treasurer; Mat-
thias Handy, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 22, 1791— DECEMBER 14, 1792.

Samuel Johnston, Grand Master; James Glasgow, Deputy Grand
Master; Stephen Cabarrus, Senior Grand Warden; Lunsford Long,

♦This compilation is partly made from lists in the Grand Lodge
Proceedings of 1845, 1855, 1860 and 1895.

fCaswell died November 10, 1789, just before his term as Grand
Master expired.

70

Junior Grand Warden; Frederick Hargett, Grand Treasurer;
Matthias Handy, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 14, 1792— DECEMBER 23, 1793.

William Richardson Davie, Grand Master ; James Glasgow, Deputy
Grand Master; Lunsford Long, Senior Grand Warden; John Macon,
JunioV Grand Warden; Frederick Hargett, Grand Treasurer; James
Ellis, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 23, 1793— DECEMBER 3, 1794.

William Richardson Davie, Grand Master; James Glasgow, Deputy
Grand Master; John Macon, Senior Grand Warden; John Louis
Taylor, Junior Grand Warden ; Frederick Hargett, Grand Treasurer ;
Richard W. Freear, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 3, 1794— DECEMBER 6, 1795.

William Richardson Davie, Grand Master ; James Glasgow, Deputy
Grand Master; John Louis Taylor, Senior Grand Warden; John
Ingles, Junior Grand Warden; Walter Alvis, Grand Treasurer;
Richard W. Freear, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 6, 1795— DECEMBER 3, 1796.

William Richardson Davie, Grand Master ; James Glasgow, Deputy
Grand Master; John Louis Taylor, Senior Grand Warden; Henry
Hill, Junior Grand Warden; John Macon, Grand Treasurer; Robert
Williams, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 3, 1796— DECEMBER 10, 1797.

William Richardson Davie, Grand Master ; James Glasgow, Deputy
Grand Master; John Louis Taylor, Senior Grand Warden; Montfort
Stokes, Junior Grand Warden ; Richard W. Freear, Grand Treasurer ;
Robert Williams, Grand Secretary.

i

DECEMBER 10, 1797— DECEMBER 16, 1798.

William Richardson Davie, Grand Master; James Glasgow, Deputy
Grand Master; John Louis Taylor, Senior Grand Warden; Montfort
Stokes, Junior Grand Warden ; Richard W. Freear, Grand Treasurer ;
Robert Williams, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 16, 1798— DECEMBER 4, 1799.

William Richardson Davie, Grand Master; John Haywood, Deputy
Grand Master ; Montfort Stokes, Senior Grand Warden ; David Cald-

71

well, Junior Grand Warden ; Henry Potter, Grand Treasurer ; Robert
Williams, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 4, 1799 — DECEMBER 3, 1800.

William Polk, Grand Master; John Louis Taylor, Deputy Grand
Master; Montfort Stokes, Senior Grand Warden; Waightstill Avery,
Junior Grand Warden ; Henry Potter, Grand Treasurer ; Robert Wil-
liams, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 3, 1800— DECEMBER 11, 1801.

William Polk, Grand Master; John Louis Taylor, Deputy Grand
Master; Montfort Stokes, Senior Grand Warden; John Winslow,
Junior Grand Warden ; Henry Potter, Grand Treasurer ; Robert Wil-
liams, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 11, 1801— DECEMBER 12, 1802.

William Polk, Grand Master; John Louis Taylor, Deputy Grand
Master; Montfort Stokes, Senior Grand Warden; William Duffy,
Junior Grand Warden; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer; Robert
Williams, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 12, 1802— DECEMBER 11, 1803.

John Louis Taylor, Grand Master ; Montfort Stokes, Deputy Grand
Master; John Hall, Senior Grand Warden; Nathaniel Alexander,
Junior Grand Warden; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer; Robert
Williams, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 11, 1803— DECEMBER 13, 1804.

John Louis Taylor, Grand Master ; Montfort Stokes, Deputy Grand
Master; John Hall, Senior Grand Warden; William Duffy, Junior
Grand Warden ; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer ; Robert Williams,
Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 13, 1804— DECEMBER 12, 1805.

John Louis Taylor, Grand Master ; Montfort Stokes, Deputy Grand
Master; John Hall, Senior Grand Warden; Robert Cochran, Junior
Grand Warden ; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer ; Robert Williams,
Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 12, 1805— DECEMBER 5, 1806.

John Hall, Grand Master; Montfort Stokes, Deputy Grand Master;
Robert Cochran, Senior Grand Warden ; William Duffy, Junior Grand
Warden ; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer ; Robert Williams, Grand
Secretary.

72

DECEMBER 5, 1806— NOVEMBER 28, 1807.

John Hall, Grand Master ; Montfort Stokes, Deputy Grand Master ;
Robert Cochran, Senior Grand Warden ; William Duffy, Junior Grand
Warden ; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer ; Robert Williams, Grand
Secretary.

NOVEMBER 28, 1807— DECEMBER 16, 1808.

John Hall, Grand Master ; Montfort Stokes, Deputy Grand Master ;
Benjamin Smith, Senior Grand Warden ; George Lee Davidson, Junior
Grand Warden ; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer ; Robert Williams,
Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 16, 1808— DECEMBER 11, 1809.

Benjamin Smith, Grand Master; Robert Williams, Deputy Grand
Master ; George Lee Davidson, Senior Grand Warden ; Andrew Cald-
well, Junior Grand Warden; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer;
Thomas Lanier Williams, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 11, 1809— DECEMBER 1, 1810.

Benjamin Smith, Grand Master; Robert Williams, Deputy Grand
Master ; Montfort Stokes, Senior Grand Warden ; Calvin Jones, Junior
Grand Warden; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer; Thomas Lanier
Williams, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 1, 1810— NOVEMBER 29, 1811.

Benjamin Smith, Grand Master; Robert Williams, Deputy Grand
Master; Calvin Jones, Senior Grand Warden; George Lee Davidson,
Junior Grand Warden; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer; Thomas
Lanier Williams, Grand Secretary.

NOVEMBER 29, 1811— DECEMBER 5, 1812.

Robert Williams, Grand Master; Jeremiah Slade, Deputy Grand
Master; Calvin Jones, Senior Grand Warden; George Lee Davidson,
Junior Grand Warden ; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer ; Alexander
Lucas, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 5, 1812— DECEMBER 11, 1813.

Robert Williams, Grand Master; Jeremiah Slade, Deputy Grand
Master ; Calvin Jones, Senior Grand Warden ; William Miller, Junior
Grand Warden ; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer ; Alexander Lucas,
Grand Secretary.

73

DECEMBER 11, 1813 — NOVEMBER 26, 1814.

Robert Williams, Grand Master; Jeremiah Slade, Deputy Grand
Master ; Calvin Jones, Senior Grand Warden ; William Miller, Junior
Grand Warden ; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer ; Alexander Lucas,
Grand Secretary.

NOVEMBER 26, 1814^-DECEMBER 18, 1815.

John Louis Taylor, Grand Master; Jeremiah Slade, Deputy Grand
Master ; Calvin Jones, Senior Grand Warden ; William Miller, Junior
Grand Warden ; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer ; Alexander Lucas,
Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 18, 1815— DECEMBER 14, 1816.

John Louis Taylor, Grand Master; , Deputy Grand

Master ; Calvin Jones, Senior Grand Warden ; William Miller, Junior
Grand Warden ; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer ; Alexander Lucas,
Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 14, 1816— DECEMBER 7, 1817.

John Louis Taylor, Grand Master ; Kemp Plummer, Deputy Grand
Master ; Calvin Jones, Senior Grand Warden ; William Miller, Junior
Grand Warden ; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer ; Alexander Lucas,
Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 8, 1817— DECEMBER 19, 1818.

Calvin Jones, Grand Master ; John Winslow, Deputy Grand Master ;
James Iredell, Senior Grand Warden; Simmons Jones Baker, Junior
Grand Warden ; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer, Alexander Lucas,
Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 19, 1818— DECEMBER 3, 1819.

Calvin Jones, Grand Master ; John Winslow, Deputy Grand Master ;
Louis Dicken Wilson, Senior Grand Warden; Leonard Henderson,
Junior Grand Warden; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer; Alexan-
der Lucas, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 3, 1819 — DECEMBER 16, 1S20.

Calvin Jones, Grand Master ; James Iredell, Deputy Grand Master ;
Louis Dicken Wilson, Senior Grand Warden; Leonard Henderson,
Junior Grand Warden; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer; Alexan-
der Lucas, Grand Secretary.

74

DECEMBER 16, 1820 — DECEMBER 3, 1821.

John Adams Cameron, Grand Master; Frederick Nash, Deputy
Grand Master ; Louis Dicken Wilson, Senior Grand Warden ; John C.
Ehringhaus, Junior Grand Warden; William Boylan, Grand Treas-
urer; Bazaleel Gillett, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 3, 1821— DECEMBER 4, 1822.

John Adams Cameron, Grand Master ; , Deputy Grand

Master; James Strudwick Smith, Senior Grand Warden; Joseph H.
Bryan, Junior Grand Warden; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer;
Benjamin A. Barham, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 4, 1822— DECEMBER 15, 1823.

James Strudwick Smith, Grand Master; James Iredell, Deputy
Grand Master; Joseph H. Bryan, Senior Grand Warden; Richard
Dobbs, Spaight, Junior Grand Warden ; William Boylan, Grand Treas-
urer; Benjamin A. Barham, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 15, 182^— DECEMBER 23, 1824.

Robert Strange, Grand Master; Francis Lister Hawks, Deputy
Grand Master ; Thomas Clancy, Senior Grand Warden ; Bazaleel Gil-
lett, Junior Grand Warden ; William Boylan, Grand Treasurer ; Alex-
ander J. Lawrence, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 23, 1824 — DECEMBER 6, 1825.

Robert Strange, Grand Master; Francis Lister Hawks, Deputy
Grand Master; Thomas A. Pasteur, Senior Grand Warden; Bazaleel
Gillett, Junior Grand Warden; Benjamin A. Barham, Grand Treas-
urer; Alexander J. Lawrence, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 6, 1825 — DECEMBER 19, 1826.

Hutchins Gordon Burton, Grand Master; Francis Lister Hawks,
Deputy Grand Master; George E. Spruill, Senior Grand Warden;
Louis Dicken Wilson, Junior Grand Warden; Benjamin A. Barham,
Grand Treasurer; Alexander J. Lawrence, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 19, 1826— DECEMBER 6, 1827.

Hutchins Gordon Burton, Grand Master; Francis Lister Hawks,
Deputy Grand Master; George E. Spruill, Senior Grand Warden;
Louis Dicken Wilson, Junior Grand Warden; Benjamin A. Barham,
Grand Treasurer; Alexander J. Lawrence, Grand Secretary.

75

DECEMBER 6, 1827— DECEMBER 10, 1828.

Louis Dicken Wilson, Grand Master ; John E. Lewis, Deputy Grand
Master; George E. Spruill, Senior Grand Warden; Jesse Speight,
Junior Grand Warden; Benjamin A. Barham, Grand Treasurer;
Alexander J. Lawrence, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 10, 1828— DECEMBER 8, 1829.

Lewis Dicken Wilson, Grand Master; John Owen, Deputy Grand
Master; James Grant, Senior Grand Warden; Samuel F. Patterson,
Junior Grand Warden; Benjamin A. Barham, Grand Treasurer;
John C. Stedman, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 8, 1829— DECEMBER 14, 1830.

Louis Dicken Wilson, Grand Master; John Owen, Deputy Grand
Master; James Grant, Senior Grand Warden; Samuel F. Patterson,
Junior Grand Warden; Benjamin A. Barham, Grand Treasurer;
John C. Stedman, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 14, 1830— DECEMBER 7, 1831.

Richard Dobbs Spaight, Grand Master; Samuel F. , Patterson,
Deputy Grand Master; George Blair, Senior Grand Warden; John
Hill Wheeler, Junior Grand Warden; Benjamin A. Barham, Grand
Treasurer; John C. Stedman, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 7, 1831— DECEMBER 17, 1832.

Richard Dobbs Spaight, Grand Master; Samuel F. Patterson,
Deputy Grand Master; Rufus Haywood, Senior Grand Warden;
Daniel Coleman, Junior Grand Warden; Dirk Lindeman, Grand
Treasurer; Charles D. Lehman, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 17, 1832— DECEMBER 11, 1833.

Simmons Jones Baker, Grand Master; William Davidson, Deputy
Grand Master ; Gray Little, Senior Grand Warden ; John G. Marshall,
Junior Grand Warden ; Dirk Lindeman, Grand Treasurer ; Thomas
J. Lemay, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 11, 1833— DECEMBER 3, 1834.

Samuel F. Patterson, Grand Master; David W. Stone, Deputy
Grand Master; Daniel Coleman, Senior Grand Warden; Edmund B.
Freeman, Junior Grand Warden; Dirk Lindeman, Grand Treasurer;
John J. Christophers, Grand Secretary.

76

DECEMBER 3, 1834 — DECEMBER 7, 1835.

Samuel F. Patterson, Grand Master; David W. Stone, Deputy
Grand Master ; Daniel Coleman, Senior Grand Warden ; John G. Mar-
shall, Junior Grand Warden; Dirk Lindeman, Grand Treasurer;
John J. Christophers, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 7, 1835— DECEMBER 14, 1836.

Lewis H. Marsteller, Grand Master; David W. Stone, Deputy
Grand Master; Daniel Coleman, Senior Grand Warden; Edmund B.
Freeman, Junior Grand Warden ; Green W. Ligon, Grand Treasurer ;
John J. Christophers, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 14, 1836— DECEMBER 25, 1837.

Lewis H. Marsteller, Grand Master; David W. Stone, Deputy
Grand Master; Henry Blount, Senior Grand Warden; James Maclin,
Junior Grand Warden; Green W. Ligon, Grand Treasurer; William
T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 25, 1837— DECEMBER 7, 1838.

David W. Stone, Grand Master; Thomas L. B. Gregory, Deputy
Grand Master; William W. Cherry, Senior Grand Warden; William
B. Dunn, Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand
Treasurer; William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 7, 1838 — DECEMBER 3, 1839.

David W. Stone, Grand Master; Kenneth Rayner, Deputy Grand
Master; William W. Cherry, Senior Grand Warden; Duncan G.
McRae, Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand
Treasurer; William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 3, 1839— DECEMBER 8, 1840.

David W. Stone, Grand Master; William B. Dunn, Deputy Grand
Master; John G. Marshall, Senior Grand Warden; Daniel Sanford
Crenshaw, Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand >
Treasurer ; Wiliam T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 8, 1840— DECEMBER 7, 1841.

Simmons Jones Baker, Grand Master; William S. Baker, Deputy
Grand Master; Daniel Sanford Crenshaw, Senior Grand Warden;
Kader Biggs, Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings,
Grand Treasurer ; William A. Harrison, Grand Secretary.

77

DECEMBER 7, 1841 — DECEMBER 8, 1842.

Daniel Sanford Crenshaw, Grand Master; Thomas Loring, Deputy
Grand Master; Thomas E. Pender, Senior Grand Warden; Davis
Young, Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand
Treasurer; William A. Harrison, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 8, 1842— DECEMBER 7, 1843.

John Hill Wheeler, Grand Master; Jonathan H. Jacocks, Deputy
Grand Master; Thomas E. Pender, Senior Grand Warden; Davis
Young, Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand
Treasurer; William A. Harrison, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 7, 1843— DECEMBER 7, 1844.

John Hill Wheeler, Grand Master; David Lowry Swain, Deputy
Grand Master ; Phineas W. Fanning, Senior Grand Warden ; William
P. Taylor, Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand
Treasurer; William A. Harrison, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 7, 1844— DECEMBER 4, 1845.

Phineas W. Fanning, Grand Master ; David W. Stone, Deputy Grand
Master ; Thomas S. Clark, Senior Grand Warden ; Arthur S. Mooring,
Junior Grand Warden ; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand Treasurer ;
William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 4, 1845— DECEMBER 10, 1846.

Phineas W. Fanning, Grand Master ; Thomas Loring, Deputy Grand
Master; Wiley W. Johnson, Senior Grand Warden; Talcott Burr,
Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand Treasurer;
William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 10, 1846— DECEMBER 8, 1847.

Phineas W. Fanning, Grand Master; William Gott, Deputy Grand
Master ; John H. Drake, Senior Grand Warden ; Peter Adams, Junior
Grand Warden ; Celadon W. D. Hutchins, Grand Treasurer ; William
T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 8, 1847— DECEMBER 7, 1848.

William F. Collins, Grand Master; Clement H. Jordan, Deputy
Grand Master; Talcott Burr, Senior Grand Warden; William H.
Mead, Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand
Treasurer; William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

78

DECEMBER 7, 1848 — DECEMBER 6, 1849.

William F. Collins, Grand Master; Clement H. Jordan, Deputy
Grand Master; John H. Drake, Senior Grand Warden; Job Hiatt,
Junior Grand Warden ; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand Treasurer ;
William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 6, 1849— DECEMBER 3, 1850.

William F. Collins, Grand Master; Clement H. Jordan, Deputy
Grand Master; William G. Hill, Senior Grand Warden; Job Hiatt,
Junior Grand Warden ; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand Treasurer ;
William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 3, 1850— DECEMBER 3, 1851.

Alonzo T. Jerkins, Grand Master; Cyrus P. Mendenhall, Deputy
Grand Master; Luke Blackmer, Senior Grand Warden; James E.
Allen, Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand
Treasurer; William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 3, 1851— DECEMBER 7, 1852.

Alonzo T. Jerkins, Grand Master; Cyrus P. Mendenhall, Deputy
Grand Master; Luke Blackmer, Senior Grand Warden; James E.
Allen, Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand
Treasurer; William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 7, 1852— DECEMBER 8, 1853.

Alonzo T. Jerkins, Grand Master; Cyrus P. Mendenhall, Deputy
Grand Master; Luke Blackmer, Senior Grand Warden; William P.
Taylor, Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand
Treasurer; William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 8, 1853— DECEMBER 7, 1854."

Clement H. Jordan, Grand Master; William P. Taylor, Deputy
Grand Master ; Peter Adams, Senior Grand Warden ; James H. Moore,
Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand Treasurer;
William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 7, 1854— DECEMBER 6, 1855.

Clement H. Jordan, Grand Master; William P. Taylor, Deputy
Grand Master; William K. Blake, Senior Grand Warden; Joseph
Green, Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand
Treasurer; William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

79

DECEMBER 6, 1855— DECEMBER 4, 1856.

Pleasant A. Holt, Grand Master ; William P. Taylor, Deputy Grand
Master; William K. Blake, Senior Grand Warden; Joseph Green,
Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand Treasurer;
William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 4, 1856 — DECEMBER 7, 1857.

Pleasant A. Holt, Grand Master; Alfred Martin, Deputy Grand
Master; James T. Alexander, Senior Grand Warden; F. M. Cox,
Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand Treasurer;
William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 7, 1857— DECEMBER 6, 1858.

Alfred Martin, Grand Master; Lewis S. Williams, Deputy Grand
Master; James T. Alexander, Senior Grand Warden; F. M. Cox,
Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand Treasurer;
William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 6, 1858— DECEMBER 5, 1859.

Alfred Martin, Grand Master; Lewis S. Williams, Deputy Grand
Master; Henry C. Lucas, Senior Grand Warden; Daniel Coleman,
Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand Treasurer;
William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 5, 1859 — DECEMBER 3, 1860.

Lewis S. Williams, Grand Master; Eli W. Ward, Deputy Grand
Master; Henry C. Lucas, Senior Grand Warden; Eli F. Watson,
Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand Treasurer;
William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 3, 1860— DECEMBER 3, 1861.

Lewis S. Williams, Grand Master; Eli W. Ward, Deputy Grand
Master; James E. Allen, Senior Grand Warden; Charles C. Clark,
Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand Treasurer;
William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 3, 1861— DECEMBER 3, 1862.

William G. Hill, Grand Master; Eli F. Watson, Deputy Grand
Master; Daniel Coleman, Senior Grand Warden; Rufus K. Speed,
Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand Treasurer;
William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

80

DECEMBER 3, 1862 — DECEMBER 8, 18C3.

Eli F. Watson, Grand Master; Edwin Godwin Reade, Deputy-
Grand Master; John McCormick, Senior Grand Warden; Rufus K.
Speed, Janior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand
Treasurer; William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 8, 1863— DECEMBER 7, 1861

Eli F. Watson, Grand Master ; Edwin Godwin Reade, Deputy Grand
Master; John McCormick, Senior Grand Warden; Robert W. Best,
Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand Treasurer;
William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 7, 1864 — DECEMBER 5, 1865.

John McCormick, Grand Master; Eugene Grissom, Deputy Grand
Master; Robert W. Best, Senior Grand Warden; David Henry
Stephenson, Junior Grand Warden ; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand
Treasurer, William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 5, 1865— DECEMBER 7, 1866.

Edwin Godwin Reade, Grand Master; John M. Happoldt, Deputy
Grand Master ; Robert W. Best, Senior Grand Warden ; John Nichols,
Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand Treasurer;
William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 7, 1866— DECEMBER 3, 1867.

Edwin Godwin Reade, Grand Master; Robert W. Best, Deputy
Grand Master ; William Lander, Senior Grand Warden ; John Nichols,
Junior Grand Warden ; Celadon W. D. nutchings, Grand Treasurer ;
William T. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 3, 1867— DECEMBER 7, 1868.

Robert W. Best, Grand Master; James G. Ramsay, Deputy Grand
Master; Robert B. Vance, Senior Grand Warden; Thomas M. Gard-
ner, Junior Grand Warden; Celadon W. D. Hutchings, Grand Treas-
urer; Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 7, 1868— DECEMBER 7, 1860.

Robert B. Vance, Grand Master ; Ellis Malone, Deputy Grand Mas-
ter ; Joseph B. Batchelor, Senior Grand Warden ; Samuel H. Roantree,
Junior Grand Warden; William E. Anderson, Grand Treasurer;
Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

81

DECEMBER 7, 1869 — DECEMBER 6, 1870.

Robert B. Vance, Grand Master ; Ellis Malone, Deputy Grand Mas-
ter ; John Nichols, Senior Grand Warden ; Samuel H. Rountree, Junior
Grand Warden; William E. Anderson, Grand Treasurer; Donald W.
Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 6, 1870— DECEMBER 5, 1871.

Charles C. Clark, Grand Master; Joseph B. Batchelor, Deputy
Grand Master; John Nichols, Senior Grand Warden; Samuel H.
Rountree, Junior Grand Warden; William E. Anderson, Grand
Treasurer; Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 5, 1871— DECEMBER 3, 1872.

Charles C. Clark, Grand Master; Joseph B. Batchelor, Deputy
Grand Master; John Nichols, Senior Grand Warden; Clinton A.
Cilley, Junior Grand Warden; William E. Anderson, Grand Treas-
urer; Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 3, 1872— DECEMBER 2, 1873.

John Nichols, Grand Master; Thomas M. Gardner, Deputy Grand
Master ; Clinton A. Cilley, Senior Grand Warden ; Robert W. Hardie,
Junior Grand Warden; William E. Anderson, Grand Treasurer;
Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 2, 1873— DECEMBER 7, 1874.

John Nichols, Grand Master; Thomas M. Gardner, Deputy Grand
Master ; Clinton A. Cilley, Senior Grand Warden ; Robert W. Hardie,
Junior Grand Warden; William E. Anderson, Grand Treasurer;
Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 7, 1874— DECEMBER 7, 1875.

George W. Blount, Grand Master ; Clinton A. Cilley, Deputy Grand
Master; Samuel C. Shelton, Senior Grand Warden; Horace H. Mun-
son, Junior Grand Warden ; William E. Anderson, Grand Treasurer ;
Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 7, 1875— DECEMBER 6, 1876.

George W. Blount, Grand Master; Eugene Grisson, Deputy Grand
Master ; Horace H. Munson, Senior Grand Warden ; Robert V. Black-
stock, Junior Grand Warden ; William E. Anderson, Grand Treasurer ;
Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

6

82

DECEMBER 6, 1876 — DECEMBER 5, 1877.

Horace H. Munson, Grand Master ; Clinton A. Cilley, Deputy Grand
Master; Robert W. Hardie, Senior Grand Warden; James C. L.
Gudger, Junior Grand Warden; William E. Anderson, Grand Treas-
urer; Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 5, 1877— DECEMBER 4, 1878.

Horace H. Munson, Grand Master; Thomas S. Kenan, Deputy
Grand Master; Robert W. Hardie, Senior Grand Warden; James
C. L. Gudger, Junior Grand Warden; William E. Anderson, Grand
Treasurer; Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 4, 1878 — DECEMBER 3, 1879.

William R. Cox, Grand Master; James C. L. Gudger, Deputy
Grand Master ; Charles W. Alexander, Senior Grand Warden ; Henry
F. Grainger, Junior Grand Warden; William E. Anderson, Grand
Treasurer; Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 3, 1879— DECEMBER 8, 1880.

William R. Cox, Grand Master; James C. L. Gudger, Deputy
Grand Master ; Charles W. Alexander, Senior Grand Warden ; Henry
F. Grainger, Junior Grand Warden; William E. Anderson, Grand
Treasurer; Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 8, 1880— DECEMBER 7, 1881.

Henry F. Grainger, Grand Master; James W. Reid, Deputy Grand
Master; Robert Bingham, Senior Grand Warden; Charles H. Robin-
son, Junior Grand Warden ; William E. Anderson, Grand Treasurer ;
Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 7, 1881— DECEMBER 6, 1882.

Henry F. Grainger, Grand Master; James W. Reid, Deputy Grand
Master; Robert Bingham, Senior Grand Warden; Charles H. Robin-
son, Junior Grand Warden; William E. Anderson, Grand Treasurer}
Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

DECEMBER 6, 1882— JANUARY 9, 1884.

Robert Bingham, Grand Master; Fabius H. Busbee, Deputy Grand
Master; Charles H. Robinson, Senior Grand Warden; William T.
Kennedy, Junior Grand Warden ; William E. Anderson, Grand Treas-
urer; Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

83

JANUARY 9, 1884 — JANUARY 14, 1885.

Robert Bingham, Grand Master; Fabius H. Busbee, Deputy Grand
Master; Charles H. Robinson, Senior Grand Warden; Samuel H.
Smith, Junior Grand Warden; William E. Anderson, Grand Treas-
urer; Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 14, 1885— JANUARY 13, 1886.

Fabius H. Busbee, Grand Master; Charles H. Robinson, Deputy
Grand Master; Samuel H. Smith, Senior Grand Warden; Hezekiah
A. Gudger, Junior Grand Warden; William B. Anderson, Grand
Treasurer; Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 13, 1886— JANUARY 12, 1887.

Fabius H. Busbee, Grand Master; Charles H. Robinson, Deputy
Grand Master; Samuel H. Smith, Senior Grand Warden; Hezekiah
A. Gudger, Junior Grand Warden; William E. Anderson, Grand
Treasurer; Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 12, 1887— JANUARY 11, 1888.

Charles H. Robinson, Grand Master; Samuel H. Smith, Deputy
Grand Master; Hezekiah A. Gudger, Senior Grand Warden; John
W. Cotten, Junior Grand Warden; William E. Anderson, Grand
Treasurer; Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 11, 1888— JANUARY 9, 1889.

Charles H. Robinson, Grand Master; Samuel H. Smith, Deputy
Grand Master; Hezekiah A. Gudger, Senior Grand Warden; John
W. Cotten, Junior Grand Warden; William E. Anderson, Grand
Treasurer; Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 9, 1889— JANUARY 15, 1890.

Samuel H. Smith, Grand Master; Hezekiah A. Gudger, Deputy
Grand Master; John W. Cotten, Senior Grand Warden; Francis M.
Moye, Junior Grand Warden; William E. Anderson, Grand Treas-
urer; Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 15, 1890— JANUARY 14, 1891.

Samuel H. Smith, Grand Master; Hezekiah A. Gudger, Deputy
Grand Master; John W. Cotten, Senior Grand Warden; Francis M.
Moye, Junior Grand Warden; William E. Anderson, Grand Treas-
urer; Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

84

JANUARY 14, 1891 — JANUARY 13, 1892.

Hezekiah A. Gudger, Grand Master; John W. Cotten, Deputy
Grand Master; Francis M. Moye, Senior Grand Warden; Richard J.
Noble, Junior Grand Warden; Darius S. Waitt, Grand Treasurer;
Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 13, 1892— JANUARY 11, 1893.

Hezekiah A. Gudger, Grand Master; John W. Cotten, Deputy
Grand Master ; Francis M. Moye, Senior Grand Warden ; Richard
J. Noble, Junior Grand Warden ; William Simpson, Grand Treasurer ;
Donald W. Bain, Grand Secretary.*

JANUARY 11, 1893— JANUARY 3, 1894.

John W. Cotten, Grand Master; Francis M. Moye, Deputy Grand
Master; Richard J. Noble, Senior Grand Warden; Walter E. Moore,
Junior Grand Warden; William Simpson, Grand Treasurer; William
H. Bain, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 3, 1894— JANUARY 9, 1895.

John W. Cotten, Grand Master; Francis M. Moye, Deputy Grand
Master; Richard J. Noble, Senior Grand Warden; Walter E. Moore,
Junior Grand Warden; William Simpson, Grand Treasurer; William
H. Bain, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 9, 1895— JANUARY 16, 1896.

Francis M. Moye, Grand Master; Richard J. Noble, Deputy Grand
Master; Walter E. Moore, Senior Grand Warden; James A. Leach,
Junior Grand Warden; William Simpson, Grand Treasurer; John
C. Drewry, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 16, 1896— JANUARY 14, 1897.

Francis M. Moye, Grand Master; William H. Summerell, Deputy-
Grand Master; Walter E. Moore, Senior Grand Warden; Beverly S.
Royster, Junior Grand Warden ; William Simpson, Grand Treasurer ;
John C. Drewry, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 14, 1897— JANUARY 13, 1898.

Walter E. Moore, Grand Master; Richard J. Noble, Deputy Grand
Master; Beverly S. Royster, Senior Grand Warden; Henry Irwin

* Upon the death of Brother D. W. Bain, on November 16, 1892,
Brother Gustav Rosenthal filled his unexpired term.

85

Clark, Junior Grand Warden; William Simpson, Grand Treasurer;
John C. Drewry, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 13, 1898 — JANUARY 12, 1899.

Walter E. Moore, Grand Master; Richard J. Noble, Deputy Grand
Master; Beverly S. Royster, Senior Grand Warden; Henry Irwin
Clark, Junior Grand Warden; William Simpson, Grand Treasurer;
John C. Drewry, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 12, 1899— JANUARY 12, 1900.

Richard J. Noble, Grand Master; Beverly S. Royster, Deputy
Grand Master ; Henry Irwin Clark, Senior Grand Warden ; Walter S.
Liddell, Junior Grand Warden; William Simpson, Grand Treasurer;
John C. Drewry, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 12, 1900— JANUARY 11, 1901.

Beverly S. Royster, Grand Master; Henry Irwin Clark, Deputy
Grand Master; Walter S. Liddell, Senior Grand Warden; Francis D.
Winston, Junior Grand Warden ; William Simpson, Grand Treasurer ;
John C. Drewry, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 11, 1901— JANUARY 16, 1902.

Beverly S. Royster, Grand Master; Henry Irwin Clark, Deputy
Grand Master ; Walter S. Liddell, Senior Grand Warden ; Francis D.
Winston, Junior Grand Warden; William Simpson, Grand Treas-
urer; John C. Drewry, Grand Secretary.

January 16, 1902— JANUARY 15, 1903.

Henry Irwin Clark, Grand Master; Walter S. Liddell, Deputy
Grand Master; Francis D. Winston, Senior Grand Warden; Samuel
M. Gattis, Junior Grand Warden; William Simpson, Grand Treas-
urer; John C. Drewry, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 15, 1903— JANUARY 14, 1904.

Henry Irwin Clark, Grand Master; Walter S. Liddell, Deputy
Grand Master; Francis D. Winston, Senior Grand Warden; Samuel
M. Gattis, Junior Grand Warden; William Simpson, Grand Treas-
urer; John C. Drewry, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 14, 1904— JANUARY 12, 1905.

Walter S. Liddell, Grand Master; Francis D. Winston, Deputy
Grand Master ; Samuel M. Gattis, Senior Grand Warden ; Richard N.

86

Hackett, Junior Grand Warden ; William Simpson, Grand Treasurer ;
John C. Drewry, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 12, 1905— JANUARY 11, 1906.

Walter S. Liddell, Grand Master; Francis D. Winston, Deputy
Grand Master; Samuel M. Gattis, Senior Grand Warden, Richard
N. Hackett, Junior Grand Warden ; Leo D. Heartt, Grand Treasurer ;
John C. Drewry, Grand Secretary.

JANUARY 11, 1906— JANUARY 10, 1907.

Francis D. Winston, Grand Master; Samuel M. Gattis, Deputy
Grand Master ; Richard N. Hackett, Senior Grand Warden ; William
B. McKoy, Junior Grand Warden; Leo D. Heartt, Grand Treasurer;
John C. Drewry, Grand Secretary.